http://www.abc4.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=540ffaeb-dc67-40dc-8757-4f0aac3388c1
Women, children and pregnant teens removed from Texas FLDS compound
Reported by: Brent Hunsaker 4/05 2:33 pm (ABC 4 News) ELDORADO, Texas
(ABC 4 News) - Buses from nearby Eldorado, Texas were pressed into
service Friday to remove 167 children from the polygamist YFZ
(Yearning for Zion) Ranch. According to the local newspaper, The
Eldorado Success, 96 boys and 71 girls spent Friday night at the small
town’s civic center.
San Angelo Judge Issues Gag Order After Raid in Eldorado Posted: April
4, 2008 09:11 AM PDT Updated: Friday April 4, 2008 08:41 PM PDT Staff Report
NewsWest 9
http://www.kwes.com/Global/story.asp?S=8119046
San Angelo Judge Issues Gag Order After Raid in Eldorado
pictures: bus, game wardens, police
ELDORADO, Texas - Law Enforcement officials are inside the YFZ ranch
which is a polygamist compound near Eldorado and are conducting an
extensive investigation. They gained entry this (friday) morning with an
armored personnel carrier from the Midland County Sheriff's Office.
Officers from Midland, the Texas Rangers, and Child Protective
Services descended on the compound Friday morning after allegations of
abuse surfaced. They later stormed the facility just before noon.
At first, members of the religious sect said that girl was not on the
ranch. Sect leaders then said they would produce the girl when
officials threatened to use the armored personnel carrier to gain
entry to the compound's temple.
COULD NOT TELL IF CALL WAS INSIDE OR OUTSIDE OF RANCH
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-04-04-polygamist-retreat_N.htm
Child services was responding to a complaint but a spokesman for the
Texas Department of Public Safety could not say whether the complaint
was made from within or outside the ranch. Tom Vinger said questioning
began Thursday evening but wouldn't say how many people were being
interviewed or how many officers were involved. No one has been taken
into custody. "Could not say"- meaning they didn't know, weren't
certain if the call came from inside or out? Or that they couldn't
divulge that information?
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2008/03_04/2008_04_04_Carlisle_ChildWelfare.htm
Child Welfare Officials Have 18 Children in Custody from Texas FLDS Ranch; 52 Girls Removed
An Investigation into Whether a Middle-Aged Man Married a Teenage Girl Spurred the Action
By Nate Carlisle and Russ Rizzo
The Salt Lake Tribune
April 4, 2008 pictures
http://origin.sltrib.com/ci_8809472
Eighteen of the 52 girls have been taken into state custody. The rest
are being interviewed away from the compound. The girls range in age
from 6 months to 17 years of age.(why remove 6 mo old for interrogation?)
A spokesman for the Texas Department of Family and Protective
Services, Patrick Crimmins, said he did not know why the children were
removed.
A search and arrest warrant shows Texas authorities are investigating
whether 50-year-old Dale Barlow married and fathered a child with a
16-year-old girl.
Residents were not allowed to come in or go out of the compound while
people were interviewed, said Department of Public Safety spokeswoman
Tela Mange.
The Federal Aviation Administration placed flight restrictions around
Eldorado, citing hazards.
In general, Crimmins said, children are removed when authorities
determine they have been or are in immediate risk of being abused or
neglected. Crimmins said a questionable marital lifestyle would not be
grounds for removal.
investigators interviewed children throughout the morning (it was night).
Schleicher County Attorney Raymond Loomis said a girl's accusation
that she was sexually abused triggered the raid, which began about
5:30 p.m. on Thursday. "Some girl at the compound called the sheriff's
office and said she was being abused," Loomis told The Salt Lake
Tribune.
----------------------------------------------------------------
%%date: 4/5/08 Saturday: 70 children, Temple to be searched
Summary:
* State looking for foster homes for girls
* State mass care plan implemented
* State plans to move shelter to San Angelo from San Angelo churches
* 15 more CPS special investigators called to assist
* The Governor's Division of Emergency Management dispatched its
Regional Incident Coordinator to the scene, activated the mass care
plan
* Headlines hit New York Times, BBC
* tensions escalated late Saturday - refused to enter temple
* ambulances called in, expecting worst
* 52 girls were removed for questioning and 18 are in CPS custody. Child Protective
Services says the girls, range in age from infants to 17 years old
* CNN: A police helicopter circled the ranch Saturday night.
* dozens of Eldorado residents brought food and volunteered to help the
displaced children. "That's the Eldorado way," Mayor John Nikolauk
said. "Whenever there are problems, this town comes together."
* Tank used to end standoff at Temple
Timeline:
7:10AM sunrise
9:00 AM Search continues: Doran, who was armed with a court order to
remove everyone 17 and under from the YFZ ranch, said it was sometimes
difficult to locate the children because some were hiding or being
hidden from police. "They were shuffled around houses," Caver added.
"They were playing kind of the egg shell game, and we had issues with
that."
3:30 p.m. CPS announces it has removed an additional 131 women and
children since the previous day for a total of 183 people, of whom 137
are children.
7:49 sunset
10:15 p.m. Saturday - Another busload of women and children is removed
from the ranch, bringing the total number past 200. 10:30 p.m. in
Eldorado, a van pulled up at the First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall
to deliver two dozen children from Schleicher County's Civic Center.
Between 10:30-11:30 p.m. Standoff and Entry into Temple. "No violence
or injuries occur." Authorities feared the worst as sect members
refused to allow law enforcement access to the compound's temple in
defiance of local prosecutors. Citing their religious convictions that
no nonbeliever should set foot inside the temple, a group of members
of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have
rejected authorities' requests to search the temple for the
16-year-old Sarah.
Allison Palmer, who as first assistant 51st District attorney, would
prosecute any felony crimes uncovered as part of the investigation
inside the compound. "Within the religion that we have encountered,
their place of worship is very special to them," she said Saturday.
"It appears to be of great concern to them if a person from outside
their congregation even attempts to step inside their place of
worship." This is a very sensitive area, and members of this church
feel very strongly about nonmembers entering that area," Palmer said.
"This is a very important to them. It is proving to be difficult to
obtain their permission to enter that building."
Palmer threatened to forcibly remove the sect's followers
"as peaceably as possible." if no agreement was reached. "They don't
want to intrude on anyone's sacred ground," she said. "They just want
to ensure the safety of children." It had not yet been determined
whether the girl and her baby are among the 137 children removed from
the ranch, making a search of the temple that much more necessary,
Palmer said. "Anytime someone says, 'Don't look here,' it makes you
concerned that's exactly where you need to look," she said.
Law enforcement met with leader Merril Jessop several times and with
his lawyers to discuss the best way of entering the temple, which they
would not permit due to religious prohibitions on allowing nonbelivers
into Mormon temples. "I wanted to do it in the most peaceful and
respectful way that we could," Caver said. The church members quietly
declined to leaving the doors unlocked or providing a key. "They felt
if they did that that they'd be aiding or assisting us in the
desecration of their worship place. So we had to use other means to
gain entry and breach the doors," Caver said.
As a police helicopter circled the ranch that night, the faithful and
their vehicles surrounded the gates to prevent entry. "They lined up
57 people, as we counted, around the walls of the temple. They didn't
appear to be armed," said Texas Ranger Capt. Barry Caver. Church
members told him they did so so they wouldn't be "in violation of
their beliefs by not defending the temple." One man — Levi Barlow
Jeffs, 19 — was arrested for trying to physically resist the entry,
Caver said they were mostly peaceful. Some men kneeled and prayed.
Other men were sobbing at the desecration. Authorities had to use the
"jaws of life" and other tools to break down the doors of the temple
Saturday night, he said. "We knew the temple would be the most
sensitive issue on the property. We opted to do that last."
Authorities brought in a locksmith to open the gate, but they were
unable to move the deadbolts to open the front doors of the temple. A
“jaws of life” tool, normally used to remove people trapped in cars
after accidents was tried to pry open the doors, but they proved to be
too tightly constructed.
(1) http://www.abc4.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=540ffaeb-dc67-40dc-8757-4f0aac3388c1
Women, children and pregnant teens removed from Texas FLDS compound
Reported by: Brent Hunsaker Last Update: 4/05 2:33 pm
Finally, the Midland County SWAT team equipped with an M113 armored
personell carrier was called to apply brute force. (1)Sheriff Gary
Painter of neighboring Midland County was asked to break both
standoffs with his SWAT and an armored vehicle. “They had the temple
surrounded with their vehicles,” the sheriff explained. “We rolled
the armored personnel carrier up and asked to be admitted and they
complied." Other accounts say the sheriff put the options more
bluntly: “Either make way so we can search or risking being run over.”
Despite such confrontations, the sheriff reported no violence. “There
was resistance. But that’s okay. Resistance we can handle.” - M113
tank threatens residents to permit entering the temple
http://www.childbrides.org/raid.html Sect leaders then said they would
produce the girl when officials threatened to use the armored
personnel carrier to gain entry to the compound's temple. "They had
the temple surrounded with their vehicles refusing to allow
admittance. We rolled the armored personnel carrier up and they
complied," said Midland County Sheriff Gary Painter
11PM: Police scanner traffic indicated that authorities had "cleared"
the church's temple and were moving to the compound's annex.
The next morning it was announced “There were some tense moments last
night, but everything has remained calm and peaceful and they are
continuing their search,” Allison Palmer
April 5 notes:
Texas child advocates believe system failed after FLDS raid
By Paul A. Anthony http://www.sltrib.com/polygamy/ci_12013868
The San Angelo Standard-times Updated: 03/27/2009 06:35:24 PM MDT
Brown, in San Antonio, received periodic updates from Walther, the
number of children increasing with each phone call. Could Brown's
CASA staff handle a dozen children, if necessary, the judge asked
initially. Then the number grew to 35. Then 80 to 100. "Over the
weekend, that number kept growing and growing," Brown said. By
Saturday afternoon, April 5, the number was 200. The advocacy center,
then sporting a full-time staff of just four and already handling 268
children, scrambled, asking inactive volunteers to come in and help
with paperwork and interviewing the children and parents. Fifty
answered the call, and 35 new volunteers were sworn in.
http://www.texasstatesociety.org/docs/TECApril2005.doc
Festival 2-3—ELDORADO: Elgoatarod Includes goat races and other
goat-related events, as well as arts & crafts, food and a midway from
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Courthouse Lawn
and Parking Lot. E-mail: elgoatarod@hotmail.com 325/853-2434 Hill
Country
Trent photographs of mothers entering church
http://www.trenthead.com/2008/04/raid-at-yfz/
"Some of the volunteers at the church clearly didn’t want me taking
photographs. They were good people looking out for the FLDS, who are
very private people. I can understand their feelings. But this is an
important story. I try to work with the same compassion they were
feeling for the children"
http://www.crimeandjustice.us/forums/lofiversion/index.php?t9366.html
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/sto...d.3685ebcb.html
137 kids, 46 women removed from compound
Web Posted: 04/05/2008 09:06 PM CDT
Janet Elliott and Gary Scharrer
Hearst Newspapers
"An outpouring of support from the small town of Eldorado was keeping
the children fed and comfortable. Many of its 2,000 residents bypassed
the local spring civic festival with its tricycle races and
goat-kissing events to help women and children from the mysterious
outpost that was built on a nearby ranch in recent years. Members of
various congregations brought bags of teddy bears, juice, snacks and
diapers to the First Baptist Church building. Two blocks away members
of the Church of Christ were preparing a dinner of fresh chicken,
broccoli, bread and salad for the temporarily homeless families.
“They couldn't have picked a better community for this to have
happened,” said Gary Shipman, a 46-year-old oil field worker, who was
helping unload $1,300 in supplies his church had purchased
Authorities still removing women, kids from sect's Texas compound Apr.
7, 2008 By: Bill Hanna - McClatchy Newspapers Posted: 4/3/08
http://www.ecollegetimes.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticlePrinterFriendly&uStory_id=3ccf313e-7586-4859-aa31-d571f470226c
An estimated 60 officials have been involved in the incident at
Eldorado. They have included Department of Public Safety troopers, CPS
investigators and caseworkers, Texas Rangers, state game wardens,
Texas Forest Service personnel, district attorney investigators, local
sheriff's department officers and a SWAT unit from Midland County.
Dozens of official vehicles clog the roads adjacent to the ranch and
authorities have utilized a helicopter for surveillance, neighboring
towns dispatched firetrucks to the site and the SWAT unit brought an
armored personnel carrier.
Tensions between the sect members and authorities peaked late Saturday
when investigators feared resistance as they prepared to search the
church's temple. "There was never any violent confrontation of any
kind," Midland County Sheriff Gary Painter said Sunday. "But some of
them objected very strongly to (investigators) entering the temple."
Painter, whose SWAT team helped search the towering white temple, said
church members asked authorities to find a locksmith to open the doors
to the temple.
Officials Tell How Sect in West Texas Was Raided By GRETEL C. KOVACH
and KIRK JOHNSON Published: April 11, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/11/us/11raid.html Capt. Barry Caver of
the Texas Public Safety Department said at a news conference here, the
officers knocked and asked for a key. The church members quietly said
no...they would be aiding or assisting us in the desecration of their
worship place,” ...locksmith to open the gate, but they were unable to
move the deadbolts to open the front doors of the temple. They tried
to use a “jaws of life” tool, normally used to remove people trapped
in cars after accidents, to open the doors. But the doors were too
tightly constructed
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080406/NEWS/804060468/-1/RSS&template=printart
Authorities fear 'worst' in standoff at compound THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: Sunday, April 6, 2008 at 2:55 a.m.
Sect leaders at a polygamist compound in West Texas refused Saturday
to let authorities search a temple for a teenage girl whose report of
abuse led to the raid, and authorities said they were preparing "for
the worst."
If no agreement is reached with sect leaders, authorities will
forcibly remove the sect's followers "as peaceably as possible,"
Allison Palmer, a prosecutor in Tom Green County, told the San Angelo
Standard-Times. Medical workers were being sent "in case this were to
a go in a way that no one wants," Palmer said.
"Within the religion that we have encountered, their place of worship
is very special to them," Palmer said. "It appears to be of great
concern to them if a person from outside their congregation even
attempts to step inside their place of worship."
http://www.kwes.com/Global/story.asp?S=8125024 Search for Teenager
Continues at Eldorado Compound Associated Press - April 6, 2008 1:55
AM ET authorities provided no details after tensions escalated late
Saturday when they were denied access to search the temple.
Allison Palmer, a prosecutor in Tom Green County, told the San Angelo
Standard-Times that medical workers were sent to the compound "in case
this were to a go in a way that no one wants." She had said
authorities will forcibly remove the sect's followers "as peaceably as
possible" if no agreement could be reached.
http://www.kwes.com/Global/story.asp?S=8124638
Authorities Prepare for "Worst" at Eldorado Polygamist Compound
ELDORADO, Texas (AP) - Sect leaders at a polygamist compound in West
Texas refused today to let authorities search a temple for a teenage
girl whose report of abuse led to the raid.
Late Saturday: Officers entered the temple on the grounds late
Saturday, but by Sunday they still had not located the 16-year-old
whose initial report of abuse led to the raid
Deseret News (Salt Lake City), May 23, 2008
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_/ai_n25464764
April 5: 167 children taken into custody by Child Protective Services
workers. Law enforcement officials with search and arrest warrants
look for Dale Barlow, the man named in the young woman's phone call. A
SWAT team breaks into the FLDS temple located on the ranch despite
protests.
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695269191,00.html Dozens of FLDS
faithful surrounded the gates of the temple in an attempt to prevent a
SWAT team from entering it on Saturday night. "They lined up 57
people, as we counted, around the walls of the temple. They didn't
appear to be armed," said Texas Ranger Capt. Barry Caver. He said
church members told him they did so so they wouldn't be "in violation
of their beliefs by not defending the temple."
While one man — Levi Barlow Jeffs, 19 — was arrested for trying to
physically resist the entry, Caver said they were mostly peaceful.
"Some would kneel and pray. Some of them were sobbing," he recalled.
Authorities had to use the "jaws of life" and other tools to break
down the doors of the temple Saturday night, he said. "We knew the
temple would be the most sensitive issue on the property. We opted to
do that last."
Anticipating they would meet some kind of resistance to entering the
temple, Caver said they met with leader Merril Jessop several times
and with his lawyers to discuss the best way of doing it.
"I wanted to do it in the most peaceful and respectful way that we
could," Caver said.
But FLDS leaders declined the option of leaving the doors to the
temple unlocked or providing a key.
"They felt if they did that that they'd be aiding or assisting us in
the desecration of their worship place. So we had to use other means
to gain entry and breach the doors," Caver said
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695269191,00.html
http://agonist.org/20080405/texas_takes_custody_of_18_girls
Texas takes custody of 18 girls
Michelle Roberts | Eldorado, TX | April 5
AP Total of 52 girls, ages 6 months to 17 years, were bused away to be
interviewed on Friday, but only 18 were immediately taken into state
custody, said Marleigh Meisner, spokeswoman for Texas Child Protective
Services. No arrests have been made. Meisner said welfare officials
were looking for foster homes for the girls, most of whom have rarely
been outside the insular world of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints. They were being housed for now at a civic
center, she said.
http://agonist.org/20080405/texas_takes_custody_of_18_girls
Texas police take 52 girls from FLDS compound, put 18 in state custody as they probe an allegation of underage marriage
The Salt Lake Tribune, By Nate Carlisle & Brooke Adams, April 5
ELDORADO, Texas - A search in Texas for a 50-year-old man accused of
marrying and impregnating a teenager led to the removal of 52 girls
Friday from an FLDS compound - the largest police action against the
polygamous sect in a half century. Shortly before 10:30 p.m. in
Eldorado, a van pulled up at the First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall
to deliver two dozen children from Schleicher County's Civic Center.
Although Texas officials insisted only girls were taken from the
ranch, the group included a few small boys. Volunteers were carrying
cases of water, gallons of milk, peanut butter, trail mix bars,
diapers and other supplies into the church. Shea Politte, whose
husband works with the First Baptist Church, said the church had
welcomed "plenty and [had] more coming."
April 5 BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7331909.stm Texas removes polygamy
sect girls The ranch is located near the small town of Eldorado
Authorities in the US state of Texas have removed 52 girls from the
ranch of the polygamist sect led by Warren Jeffs as part of a child
abuse investigation. Eighteen of the girls, aged between 6 months and
17, are in state custody. The rest are being found foster homes
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,346390,00.html Child Welfare
Officials Remove Girls From Polygamist Sect Leader Warren Jeff's
Compound Saturday, April 05, 2008 By the end of the day, 18 were put
legally into state custody, and CPS spokeswoman Marleigh Meisner said
interviews would continue Saturday. The girls put in state custody
were believed to be in danger, Meisner said. "Those are the ones we
believe have been abused or they are in imminent risk of harm, and it
would not be safe for those children to remain in the compound," she
said. Child welfare officials were looking for foster homes for the
girl
A small white bus that left the compound accompanied by state troopers
was filled with children, Meisner said. She could not immediately say
how many. The bus was filled with what appeared to be mostly girls,
dressed in conservative long-sleeve dresses
CNN (video)
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/04/texas.ranch/?imw=Y&iref=mpstoryemail
A total of 183 people -- including 137 children -- have been taken
away We're trying to find out if they're safe," she explained. "We
need to know if they have been abused or neglected." The others were
taken to a nearby civic center. Meisner described them as doing
"remarkably well." State and local law enforcement agencies set up
roadblocks around the ranch Thursday evening, preventing journalists
from seeing what was happening on the property, according to Randy
Mankin, editor of the Eldorado Success weekly newspaper. "This came
totally out of the blue," Mankin said
Salt Lake Tribune: More than 180 youth and children removed from Texas FLDS compound (April 5, 2008)
Associated Press: 52 Girls Removed From Texas Compound (April 5, 2008)
Official on children at FLDS ranch: 'It is not safe for them to
remain' By PAUL A. ANTHONY and MATT PHINNEY, Staff writers Originally
published 12:00 a.m., April 5, 2008 Some of the girls, ages 6 months
to 17 years, showed signs of having been abused or were in danger of
abuse, said state Child Protective Services spokeswoman Marleigh
Meisner. "We're dealing with many victims," she said. "There's
evidence they have been abused, or are at imminent risk of harm. It is
not safe for them to remain on the compound."
it's not clear whether the girl or her baby were among the 52 removed
from the ranch. The Standard-Times does not identify those listed as
victims of alleged sex-related crimes. According to state law, a girl
younger than 17 cannot consent to have sex unless her partner is less
than three years older than she, or she is married. Girls younger than
16, however, cannot be married, even with parental consent, and
according to the birth date listed in the warrant, the girl was only
15 when she gave birth.
CPS was providing cots and food for them in the city's civic center.
"We really just handled it like any other incident," Meisner said.
"It's just on a grander scale."
http://gosanangelo.com/news/2008/apr/05/more-children-removed-flds-ranch/
More children removed from FLDS Ranch
By Paul A. Anthony (Contact)
Saturday, April 5, 2008
FLDS members bar authorities from temple
BREAKING NEWS: Authorities remove girls from FLDS ranch near Eldorado
ELDORADO — State officials confirmed this morning(0405) that more
children were removed overnight from the YFZ ranch polygamist compound
overnight, and that the total number of children taken away from the
Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints church property is likely well over
100.
Fifty-two children between the ages of 6 months and 17 years were
taken off the ranch in shuttle buses by authorities Friday during an
investigative raid that began Thursday night, involving Department of
Public Safety law enforcement officers, officials from Child
Protective Services and other agencies.
An additional two buses were sent to the ranch this morning and have
not returned. Buses also removed children from the compound overnight.
At least 100 children are being kept at Eldorado's community center
and the Eldorado First Baptist Church fellowship hall, said Linda
Love, owner of the Sutton County Steak House in nearby Sonora, which
served dinner to the children Friday night and breakfast this morning.
Love said officials told her to expect to serve about 225 people – a n
unknown mix of children, volunteers and law enforcement – for dinner
today.
“They're singing songs,” she said, standing outside First Baptist
Church. “So happy and sweet and precious. It's heart breaking.”
The DPS is no longer answering questions about the situation,
according to a recorded message on the agency's public affairs phone
line. Spokesman Tom Vinger in the recorded message cites requests from
the Tom Green County District Attorney's office for the agency to
cease commenting on the matter
http://gosanangelo.com/news/2008/apr/05/183-removed-from-flds-compound-so-far/
FLDS members bar authorities from temple By Paul A. Anthony (Contact)
Originally published 05:30 p.m., April 5, 2008 Updated 06:06 p.m.,
April 5, 2008 ELDORADO - State officials have now removed 183 women
and children from the YFZ Ranch in Schleicher County, but a group of
sect members have refused to allow law enforcement access to the
compound's temple, local prosecutors say.
Citing their religious convictions that no nonbeliever should set foot
inside the temple, a group of members of the Fundamentalist Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have rejected authorities' requests
to search the temple for a 16-year-old girl whose complaint triggered
the massive, three-day raid, said
Allison Palmer, who as first
assistant 51st District attorney, would prosecute any felony crimes
uncovered as part of the investigation inside the compound.
"Within the religion that we have encountered, their place of worship
is very special to them," she said Saturday. "It appears to be of
great concern to them if a person from outside their congregation even
attempts to step inside their place of worship."
Palmer said if no agreement is reached, authorities will forcibly
remove the sect's followers "as peaceably as possible."
"They don't want to intrude on anyone's sacred ground," she said.
"They just want to ensure the safety of children."
Of the 183 people removed from the YFZ Ranch since Friday afternoon,
137 of them are children, said Marleigh Meisner, spokeswoman for the
state's Child Protective Services agency.
About 40 of the children are boys, Meisner said.
"They're literally about halfway through" searching the ranch
northeast of Eldorado for children, Meisner said.
So far, 18 girls have been placed in state custody. The state has
located foster homes for them, Meisner said, although they remain with
the other 119 children at a pair of Eldorado sites, undergoing
interviews about their life inside the secretive compound.
"She didn't use the term 'forced into marriage,' " Palmer said. "She
indicated that she was underage and had a (50)-year-old husband."
It has not yet been determined whether the girl and her baby are among
the 137 children removed from the ranch, making a search of the temple
that much more necessary, Palmer said.
"Anytime someone says, 'Don't look here,' it makes you concerned
that's exactly where you need to look," she said.
CNN: A police helicopter circled the ranch Saturday night.
MEN PRAYED AND CRIED
http://www.religionnewsblog.com/21116/flds-52
ReligionNewsBlog.com • Item 21116 • Posted: Friday April 11, 2008
ELDORADO, Texas - When authorities moved to search the large white
temple on the polygamist compound in West Texas, about five dozen of
the sect’s men prayed and cried around the structure, state
investigators said Thursday.
TENSE MOMENTS AT TEMPLE http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23958307/ AP Mon.,
April. 7, 2008 'Tense moments last night' “There were some tense
moments last night, but everything has remained calm and peaceful and
they are continuing their search,” Allison Palmer, a prosecutor from a
nearby county handling the case, said early Sunday.
From: Kristi Jordan
To: Kristi Jordan; Brian Newby; Mike Morrissey; Kris Heckmann; Kathy Walt; Steve McCraw;
Jack Colley; Robert Black
Cc: Jessica Olson; Kyle Mitchell
Sent: Sat Apr 05 12:10:39 2008
Subject: UPDATE: Eldorado situation
I just got off a conference call with DFPS Commissioner Carey
Cockerell. As of this morning, 137 children have been removed and 46
adult women accompanied the children. So far, only 18 children have
been legally removed, while the remaining children have been removed
for the purpose of investigative interviews. As the interviews
progress, the number of legal removals will likely change.
The local community has been very gracious in their donations of
supplies, but this could very well turn into a logistical nightmare
for DFPS staff since they are concentrating on the safety of the
children and the interviews. Commissioner Cockerell is looking into
having the Red Cross organize and coordinate any donations from the
community where DFPS staff can continue to prioritize interviewing the
children.
DPS is still systematically going through the compound and
approximately half of the homes have been searched so far, so the
numbers likely will continue to climb. If the numbers of children
continue to increase, DFPS staff will need help with shelter
management. DFPS is exploring the possibility of having the Red Cross
help with shelter management, but one of the challenges is that
anybody with access to the children will need to have background
checks.
Commissioner Cockerell and DPS Chairman Polunsky have spoken to be
sure their efforts continue to be coordinated. Chairman Polunsky said
he would pass along Commissioner Cockerell's contact information to
Jack Colley also.
Please let know if you have any questions.
Thank you,
Kristi
--------------------------------------------------------------
%%date: 4/6/08 Sunday All children moved to Fort Concho, Temple Standoff
Summary
- Anniversary of prophet's birth, only FLDS holy day. Government
officials are searching all day, taking families all day, plundering
all day.
- YFZ residents restricted to walking only.
- women, children bused into San Angelo in school buses
- women appeal to Gov Perry (who already approved the raid)
- Residents block entrance to temple with vehicles
- CNN: "Authorities stormed the temple of a Texas ranch "
http://www.truthwillprevail.org/index.php?parentid=1&index=73
- temple desecrated Morning "We watched many vehicles surround the
temple. A helicopter flew in and landed outside the temple walls. We
saw them unload their dogs. What a sight to see these hundred of
people freely walking in and out of the temple."
- All children and adults at shelters in Eldorado were moved to a
centralized shelter in at the Ft. Concho complex in San Angelo.
- Including new arrivals from the FLDS compound there were 246 children
and 93 women in DFPS care.
- CPS continued to work with law enforcement to locate children at the
compound and bring them to the shelters in San Angelo.
- Singing on bus while traveling to San Angelo under police escort.
CPS workers seem confused. They are continually asked, "What is going
on?" "What is happening?" Their answer is that they "don't have a
clue." They seem quite nervous, and no one really knows anything.
12:16 PM Unloading at Fort Concho. Sunday, April 06, 2008 11:14:00 AM
- Meisner said most of the children were coping with the sudden removal
from their home. "The kids are doing remarkably well," Meisner said.
"We're really trying to be aware that their whole world has changed."
- 2nd search warrant signed at 10:10PM authorizing more searcing,
cites interviewing of girls who were pregnant or gave birth as teens
Police Enter Polygamist Sect's Temple
West Texas Compound Is Searched For Signs Of Underage Girl Who Alleged Abuse
ELDORADO, Texas, April 6, 2008
(CBS/AP) "They don't know this world, they don't know our world, and I know
it's frightening," said sympathetic Eldorado resident Barbara Arendt.
"
Image Getty Images school bus in April 6
http://cbs11tv.com/national/texas.polygamy.sect.2.797332.html
Image:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080406/search_poly_080407/20080407?hub=CanadaAM
* girls walk behind blanket onto school bus April 6
* procession of game warden pickup trucks heading to ranch
Slideshow
http://www.kutv.com/Photo.aspx?content_id=83068083-d8f3-4445-9fb2-a473cbaaab06
7:08A sunrise
9:00 AM We held Sunday school with our family. We listened to a
beautiful sermon of our dear Prophet.
10:00 AM we got word that they were starting to take more families.
Our house was in the pathway of the homes they were plundering. We
helped each child pack one set of clothes. I went out and watered our
just-established herb garden, not knowing when we would be back.
12:00 PM 10 buses gathered outside the Schleicher County Courthouse
and began transporting many of the residents taken from YFZ Ranch in
West Texas to new locations. About noon, six of the buses left
Eldorado headed north under police escort. Four of them arrived at
Fort Concho in San Angelo -- about 44 miles away -- around 12:50 p.m.
A little after 1 p.m., two of those buses headed back to Eldorado.
5:00 PM Marie and 3 boys escorted to bus. The bus pulled up to our
home. CPS workers came into the home without any explanation or
reasons for what they were doing. Our house filled with CPS workers
and armed men, who herded us out to the bus. As I walked out to the
bus with my three boys, I thought, "Now what did we do; how can they
come in and do this? I can't think of any law we've broken." I just
wanted someone to tell me what I did wrong, what law I had broken for
them to want to take my children. We went to other homes and picked
up more people.
6:30 PM The bus loaded, we began driving out to the gate. We passed by
the Big House and saw many hands waving through the west window. One
of those hands was Rosie's. The thought came to my mind, "When will I
return to my Zion home?"
6:45-7:45 1 hr trip to San Angelo As we rode on the bus, we prayed and
sang.
7:50P sunset. By nightfall, all the mothers and children were gone.
Imagine the lonely heartsick feeling of those who remained. The armed
force stopped all driving on the land and stopped all equipment.
8:00 PM It was dark when we pulled up to a building with a sign that
said "Fort Concho Stables." As we began to unload, there were people
who searched through all our luggage. We entered these stables through
a big garage door, noticing Christmas lights still wrapped around the
posts. The building was filled with lines of cots. We helped the
children get some of the available food. Then we did the best we could
to help them say their prayers and go to bed. Someone who had brought
an iPod with speakers turned on our Priesthood songs; the music seemed
to comfort the children.
8:53P moonset
10:00 PM Marie: I slept on the end cot near the opening of the
building. The CPS workers would walk down the aisles of cots all
through the night. Some of us ladies established our own night watch.
During the night I got very cold, sleeping by this open door, One or
two of our ladies slipped a blanket over me as they walked by on their
night duty
- Levi Barlow arrested sunday evening, charged with interfering with
duties of a public servant in connection with the search (of temple?)
Monday night Leroy Johnson Steed is charged with tampering with
physical evidence, a third-degree felony.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Sunday April 6 notes:
Pictures
http://www.trenthead.com/category/my-work/page/9/
e-mails
From: Kristi Jordan
Sent: Sunday, April 06, 2008 12:38 AM
To: Steve McCraw; Kyle Mitchell; Robert Black; Brian Newby; Mike Morrissey; Kris Heckmann;
Kathy Walt; Jack Colley
Cc: Jessica Olson; Brian Guthrie
Subject: RE: UPDATE: Eldorado Situation
Steve McCraw, JacK Colley and their team have done an incredible job of deploying
appropriate resources in a short amount of time to assist DFPS. Commissioner Cockerell is
particularly grateful since this allows DFPS to concentrate on their core mission, which
is the health and safety of the children. Not only are efforts being undertaken to
address the children's medical needs, but everything is being done to address their very
special basic needs, i.e. only whole foods, no processed food; modest clothing; simple
toys, nothing electronic, etc.
[7]
Tomorrow (Sunday) morn1ng will be a key time in our efforts since the children will be
moved from the civic center in Eldorado to the shelter in San Angelo. The deployed teams
are working through the night at the San Angelo shelter to assure everything is ready for
the arrival of the children. With the coordination of GDEM, DPS and DFPS, this should all
go smoothly, but Steve or I will update you once the transfer takes place.
For your information only, below is the latest article from The New York Times.
Thanks,
Kristi
stamped "Information Redacted"
From: Kristi Jordan
Sent: Sunday, April 06, 2008 5:05 PM
To: Kristi Jordan; Steve McCraw; Robert Black; Brian Newby; Mike Morrissey; Kris Heckmann;
Kathy Walt; Jack Colley; David Cabrales; Ken Armbrister
Cc: Jessica Olson; Brian Guthrie; Kyle Mitchell; Ann-Marie Price
Subject: Re: UPDATE: Eldorado Situation
There are 26 more children being removed from the compound, accompanied by 14 adults.
There is a possibility of more children in the compound, so we'll keep you posted.
From: Kristi Jordan
Sent: Sunday, April 06, 2008 6:29 PM
To: Steve McCraw; Robert Black; Brian Newby; Mike Morrissey; Kris Heckmann; Kathy Walt;
Jack Colley; David Cabrales; Ken Armbrister
Cc: Jessica Olson; Brian Guthrie; Kyle Mitchell; Ann-Marie Price
Subject: CONFIDENTIAL UPDATE: Eldorado Situation
I just spoke with Steve, and the situation in Eldorado at the compound is still unfolding.
[6]
DPS informed that only four of the 19 structures at the compound have been searched so
far. Law enforcement will be working through the night to finish the searches, but if the
numbers dramatically increase, additional resources will need to be deployed. For
example, buses may have to be chartered and shelters may need to be activated in San
Antonio since San Angelo will be at maximum capacity.
DPS Chairman Polunsky and Commissioner Cockerell are at the State Operations Center (SOC)
with Steve McCraw and Jack Colley to ensure efforts are coordinated.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank You,
Kristi
stamped "Information Redacted"
----- Original Message ---------
From: Kristi Jordan
To: Kristi Jordan; Steve McCraw; Robert Black; Brian Newby: Mike Morrissey; Kris Heckmann;
Kathy Walt; Jack Colley; David Cabrales; Ken Armbrister
Cc: Jessica Olson; Brian Guthrie; Kyle Mitchell; Ann-Marie Price
Sent: Sun Apr 06 21:58:50 2008
Subject: RE: CONFIDENTIAL UPDATE: Eldorado Situation
There are now 383 children and 128 adult women at the shelter in San Angelo. A seventh
building has been opened in San Angelo to accommodate the increased numbers; however, GDEM
is in the process of identifying another shelter location since the search has yet to be
completed and San Angelo is beyond capacity. The main problem at the shelter in San
Angelo at this time is the lack of adequate bathroom facilities, but this concern is being
addressed.
DFPS has 160 direct care staff (staff directly interacting with the children) on the
ground in San Angelo, and this number does not include their legal team, press, etc.
INTOLERANT FAITH, BABY FACTORIES, HAD BRUISES AND WELTS, BRAINWASHING
http://www.rickross.com/reference/polygamy/polygamy789.html Former
polygamists tell of isolation and brainwashing Ft. Worth
Star-Telegram/April 6, 2008 By Jack Douglas, Jr. The young girls who
have been taken from a polygamist compound in West Texas, their stares
wide-eyed but blank as they pass the fields of TV cameras, come from
an intolerant faith that turns women and their young daughters into
"baby factories" ordered to obey the men who abuse them or suffer the
wrath of God, former polygamists said Saturday
Rowena Mackert was born in Short Creek the year of the raid, then
moved to Salt Lake City with her polygamist family when she was 6.
Fleeing the sect in 1977, following years of abuse as a youth, she is
now forced into hiding after receiving death threats for her public
renunciation of polygamy. ... "And I told him to go to hell."
Mackert, now 54, said she respects the 16-year-old girl in Texas who
alerted authorities about being abused within the walls of the
polygamists' compound. "You're told you can do all but kill a child
for deliberate disobedience, " Mackert said, remembering one day in
her youth. "I stole a candy bar when I was 13, and I had bruises and
welts from my waist down to my knees."
Walther issues search warrant Sunday that allows officers to take away
cell phones and other communication devices.
http://familyrightsassociation.com/news/archive/2008/flds/april_2008.html
FLDS ranch leader says Texas raid 'matches anything in Russia or
Germany' By Brooke Adams The Salt Lake Tribune Article Last Updated:
04/08/2008 03:52:42 PM MDT
http://www.kwes.com/Global/story.asp?S=8125024 Search for Teenager
Continues at Eldorado Compound Associated Press - April 6, 2008 1:55
AM ET Early Sunday, a bus that appeared to be filled with women were at the
civic center south of town, where a lawyer and law-enforcement
officials were talking with them.
http://www.kwes.com/Global/story.asp?S=8125024
Midland County Sends Aid to Eldorado
Associated Press - April 6, 2008 1:55 AM ET
ELDORADO, Texas (AP) - The search continued for a teenager whose
report of abuse initiated the raid on a West Texas polygamist
compound. Law enforcement maintained a roadblock miles from the
religious retreat built by polygamist leader Warren Jeffs, and
authorities provided no details after tensions escalated late Saturday
when they were denied access to search the temple.
http://www.kwes.com/Global/story.asp?S=8125529
Midland County Sheriff's Office SWAT Team Returns Home from Eldorado
NewsWest 9 has learned from Midland County Sheriff Gary Painter that
the Midland County Sheriff's Office SWAT Team and APC have returned
home after the raid in Eldorado
Women, Children Bused Farther Away from Polygamist compound Associated
Press - April 6, 2008 4:25 PM ET ELDORADO, Texas (AP) - Busloads of
women and children removed from a polygamist compound were taken out
of town Sunday as authorities continued to search the retreat for
evidence that a teen was married to a 50-year-old member of the sect.
Authorities look for more kids at W. Texas ranch By BILL
HANNAStar-Telegram Staff Writer
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:uGKWAS6G78gJ:www.star-telegram.com/804/story/565881.html+walther+gag+order+ranch&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us
She said CPS investigators' presence in Eldorado could continue
indefinitely. Meisner said that she planned to be in Eldorado "for a
while."
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:uGKWAS6G78gJ:www.star-telegram.com/804/story/565881.html+walther+gag+order+ranch&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us
Apr. 06, 2008
Authorities look for more kids at W. Texas ranch
By BILL HANNA Star-Telegram Staff Writer
Of the 219 taken, 159 are children
Meisner: they do not believe they have found all of the children. She
also said investigators are uncertain whether they have the found the
16-year-old who started the investigation
10 buses gathered outside the Schleicher County Courthouse and began
transporting many of the residents taken from YFZ Ranch in West Texas
to new locations. About noon, six of the buses left Eldorado headed
north under police escort. Four of them arrived at Fort Concho in San
Angelo -- about 44 miles away -- around 12:50 p.m. A little after 1
p.m., two of those buses headed back to Eldorado.
Before a gag order was issued Friday by state District Judge Barbara
Walther, Midland County Sheriff Gary Painter, whose department sent an
armored personnel carrier to Eldorado, told Midland television station
KWES-TV that "one [girl] in particular is wanting out, and they're
hiding her."
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_/ai_n25464764 April 6:
Sixty FLDS mothers voluntarily leave the ranch to be with their
children at a makeshift shelter in San Angelo. State officials
continue to search the compound for children. Child welfare workers
say 18 children showed evidence of possible abuse.
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695268014,00.html
Busloads of women, children taken from Texas polygamist compound leave
community By Michelle Roberts Associated Press Published: Sunday,
April 6, 2008 3:41 p.m. MDT Authorities who removed 219 women and
children from a polygamist compound were struggling Sunday to
determine whether they had the 16-year-old girl whose report of an
underage marriage led them to raid the sprawling rural property. Many
people at the compound, built by followers of jailed polygamist leader
Warren Jeffs, are related to one another and share similar names;
investigators said in some case they were giving different names at
different times
The women and children were taken out of the compound Friday and
Saturday and had been staying in a local church and civic center.
By midday Sunday, dozens of women and children, mostly girls, were
seen boarding buses on their way to San Angelo, a larger town 45 miles
away. The women wore long pastel dresses and many carried bedding;
several had infants
The search warrant instructed officers to look for marriage records or
other evidence linking her to the man and the baby. The warrant
authorized the seizure of computer drives, CDs, DVDs or photos
Police Enter Polygamist Sect's Temple West Texas Compound Is Searched
For Signs Of Underage Girl Who Alleged Abuse ELDORADO, Texas, April 6,
2008
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/06/national/main3996587.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_3996587
CBS News correspondent Hari Sreenivasan reported that by Sunday, the
women and children from the fundamentalist Mormon church were being
fed and housed by volunteers at a local church and community center.
"They don't know this world, they don't know our world, and I know
it's frightening," said sympathetic Eldorado resident Barbara Arendt.
http://www.nolanchart.com/article3380.html The FLDS in Eldorado:
Please, Not Another Ruby Ridge or Waco Texas lawmen approach FLDS
compound near Ed Dorado, recalling tragedies of Waco and Ruby Ridge
where authoritarianism ran amok. by Random Outlier (Libertarian)
Sunday, April 6, 2008
the local prosecutor warns
that emergency medical vehicles and personnel were dispatched to
"prepare for the worst." Officers say they intend to remove the
holdout FLDSers as peaceably as possible. It would seem to me that
the state of Texas could summon the patience to make that "peaceably,
period," even if it requires a siege of months
Texas raid prompts First Baptist ministry
Baptist Press Posted on Apr 7, 2008 | by Ken Walker
http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=27776 Approximately 100 residents
were taken to the civic center and the remainder went to the church's
fellowship hall, the pastor said. They stayed at the two venues until
noon on April 6, when state authorities transported them to Fort
Concho, a historical site in San Angelo, Anderson said. The old
pioneer days fort contains adequate (???) housing for the women and
children, Anderson added.
Officials Tell How Sect in West Texas Was Raided By GRETEL C. KOVACH
and KIRK JOHNSON Published: April 11, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/11/us/11raid.html Capt. Barry Caver of
the Texas Public Safety Department said at a news conference here, the
officers knocked and asked for a key. The church members quietly said
no...they would be aiding or assisting us in the desecration of their
worship place,” ...locksmith to open the gate, but they were unable to
move the deadbolts to open the front doors of the temple. They tried
to use a “jaws of life” tool, normally used to remove people trapped
in cars after accidents, to open the doors. But the doors were too
tightly constructed
Finally, a SWAT team was called to apply brute force. As the team
broke down the doors, about 57 men from the church stood in a circle
around the building to bear witness, Captain Caver said. The sect
members sank to their knees in prayer, some sobbing, and one young man
rushed to intervene. He was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of
interfering with a public servant but has been released on bond.
Marleigh Meisner, said in a telephone interview that investigators had
completed one-on-one interviews with all the young people taken in the
raid and did not have a definitive answer. “It may take some time for
her to come forward,” Ms. Meisner said.
In their search of the ranch, troopers used cadaver dogs to look for
unmarked graves but did not find any, Captain Caver said.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23958307/
Polygamist ranch searched, followers moved
80-foot-high temple The compound sits down a narrow paved road and
behind a hill that shields it almost entirely from view in town. Only
the 80-foot-high white temple can be seen on the horizon. Authorities
kept onlookers miles away from the compound.
A caravan of K-9 unit vehicles were seen headed down the road to the
compound on Sunday morning. Palmer said she couldn’t say whether
authorities had entered all of the compound’s many buildings but
called it “a detailed search.”
Eldorado is a town of fewer than 2,000 people, home to a few
government buildings, a couple of churches and a few blocks of houses.
It’s surrounded by wind-swept plains where sheep are raised.
UPDATE: Sunday, April 6, 2008
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3256986&mesg_id=3257505
ELDORADO, Texas (AP) — Law enforcement agents entered an enormous
temple on the grounds of a polygamist compound, but by Sunday morning
they still had not found a 16-year-old girl whose initial report of
abuse led to the raid. "There were some tense moments last night, but
everything has remained calm and peaceful and they are continuing
their search," said Allison Palmer, a prosecutor from a nearby county
handling the case, early Sunday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/us/06dorado.html Additional Children
Removed at Polygamist Ranch in Texas By RALPH BLUMENTHAL Published:
April 6, 2008 HOUSTON — Authorities removed an additional 85 children
from a polygamist compound on Saturday, bringing the total to 137,
officials said, as a confrontation appeared to be developing over law
enforcement access to parts of the facility in Eldorado, in West Texas
state ambulances were heading into the remote compound. Mankin said
police reports he was monitoring suggested that church officials were
refusing access to the authorities and that the officers were
preparing to force their way in. a judge’s gag order in the case —
issued Saturday in San Angelo at the request of the Tom Green County
district attorney, Stephen R. Lupton, who has jurisdiction in
Schleicher County — kept her from providing any information on whether
violence had broken out. the 16-year-old girl whose complaint had set
off the raid had not been identified.
Police called in ambulances and other emergency vehicles as they
prepared to search the polygamist group's temple, officials said.
Authorities wanted medical backup "in case they're involved in
sensitive areas that could escalate into a negative reaction," a law
enforcement source said. A police helicopter circled the ranch
Saturday night. Source: cnn.com
http://www.abc4.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=540ffaeb-dc67-40dc-8757-4f0aac3388c1
Women, children and pregnant teens removed from Texas FLDS compound
Reported by: Brent Hunsaker Last Update: saturday 4/05 2:33 pm (ABC 4 News)
ELDORADO, Texas (ABC 4 News) - Buses from nearby Eldorado, Texas were
pressed into service Friday to remove 167 children from the polygamist
YFZ (Yearning for Zion) Ranch. According to the local newspaper, The
Eldorado Success, 96 boys and 71 girls spent Friday night at the small
town’s civic center.
More details of the siege of the sprawling FLDS ranch are coming out.
There was first a standoff at the gate (saturday raid?) and then at
the FLDS temple. (sunday?) Along with
the search warrant, Texas lawmen carried with them an arrest warrant.
A spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Public Safety declined to
say who is named in that warrant, but as of Friday evening, no one had
been arrested.
http://kdka.com/national/polygamist.sect.mothers.2.698762.html
Polygamist Sect Moms Appealed To Texas Governor SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP)
? The mothers of children removed from a polygamous sect's ranch in
West Texas after an abuse allegation are appealing to Gov. Rick Perry
for help, saying some of their children have become sick and even
required hospitalization. (of course he approved the raid 2 days before)
DFPS Media Interviews - April 6, 2008
Newspapers & Magazines
San Angelo Times
Star Telegram
Deserette Times, Utah
L. A. Times
Associated Press
Reuters Wire Service
Houston Chronicle
N. Y. Times
Dallas Morning News
Salt Lake Tribune
Sydney Morning Herald
People Magazine
Wall Street Journal
Broadcast
BBC
KTBC-TV, Austin
NBC Network
CBS Radio News
CNN
AP-Radio
Gera1do-FOX Net
KOSA-TV, Midland
ABC News
KLST-TV, San Angelo
Texas State Radio Network
Salt Lake, Channel 2 TV
KSAT-TV, San Antonio
ABC Network News
KEYE-TV, Austin
CBS Morning News
KSAN-TV, San Angelo
FOX Network News
NBC- Today Show
MSNBC
Larry King Live
KTRH Radio, Hosuton
Dr. Phil Show
Oprah
KTRK- TV, Houston
CBS Channel 2, Dallas
Canada TV Network
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
%%date: 4/7/08 Monday All Children Granted State Custody
Summary
- 133 women who "wanted to leave" also taken
- Baptist Church makes breakfast
- 400 children are officially taken into custody.
- FLDS counts 172 at stable alone
- CPS frustrated that families will not talk to CPS without a lawyer
- District Judge Barbara Walthers granted DFPS temporary legal custody
of all 401 the children in the shelter in San Angelo, after it was
(incorrectly) concluded that some of these children had been sexually
and physically abused and the rest are at risk of abuse if returned to
their homes at this time.
- An adversarial hearing was set for April 17, 2008 to determine if
the children should remain in DFPS conservatorship.
- Additional shelter opened in San Angelo (ap 7 email)
- Salvation Army camp identified in Midlothian to be used to separate
parents on Wednesday. (ap 7 email)
- Meisner "It's very difficult any time CPS removes children from
homes, that's the most difficult thing that we do"
- "I am confident this girl indeed exists, and the allegations she
brought forth are accurate" Meisner
- ABC Good Morning America: were girls abused? When will the truth come out?
- Carolyn Jessop "now that they are in a safe place, away from the
compound, they do not have to be afraid to speak the truth" tells of
infant water torture
- Mothers told they could be there 2 or 3 weeks
Ranch:
- 8AM 2nd (FBI?) search warrant for all financial records and
confiscate computers,files, etc. Everyone under 'house' arrest -- no
walking away from homes permitted. Every home violated again as the
FBI go through everything. Records gathered and taken.
- "Police Continue Search for Missing Sect Teen; 533 Women, Children Are"
An unknown number of men remain at the retreat in Eldorado and will
not be permitted to leave until authorities complete a house-by-house
search throughout the 1,700-acre compound,
- Leroy Johnson Steed is charged monday night with tampering with physical
evidence, a third-degree felony during search.
- Meisner: "The kids don't know about crayons or breakfast cereal."
- Marie: Had showers today, did laundry, and felt very blessed with the
privilege. The CPS people have been trying to get information about
all who are here. No one will tell them anything except, "I demand a
lawyer." It is hard to make any connections with lawyers without
phones. Quite a tense day as emotions heighten. A couple of CPS
investigators walk over to the shelters to see if they can convince
people to start giving some information so that mothers and children
can go home, and they can go home. They (CPS) just become more
frustrated. Monday, April 07, 2008 6:00:00 AM
3:55 PM Petition for Protection of Children filed, asks for removal and
custody of all FLDS children. Only one Sarah born 1990 noted.
Marie: At the Fort Concho Stables, we helped the children with their
morning prayers. There was only a four-stall bathroom with two sinks.
(I'm grateful we had that much!) We made a head count of our people;
the total came to 174. We helped the children get some breakfast,
which was made by the Baptist Church. They really made an effort to
fix the food we were used to eating.
I began to look around to see how we could improve our situation. I
saw a lot of folding tables by the side of the building and asked if I
could set one up. CPS workers helped me, and we got some benches so
that the children could work on coloring, drawing, handwriting, and so
forth. We were surrounded by CPS workers, who would walk through all
day and watch us continually.
At the back of the building was a stage for programs. There were a
bunch of wooden risers covered with carpet. I hauled two of these up
by my bed and put them to the side, so that I might have a little
privacy. I didn't get permission from CPS; I just did it. Only a few
feet from my bed was where the main group of CPS workers sat all
during the day and throughout the night.
It was a chore to keep our energetic children in this confined area.
They had already been confined for three days at home while all the
events took place there. Heavenly Father heard our prayers and saw our
needs. CPS workers put up a disposable fence in the back of this
building and fenced off a small area. We were grateful! About 30 feet
away was a big sand pile. I thought it would be ideal for the
children. Later that night, I asked a lady who seemed to be in charge
if we could do something about extending the fence to go over to this
sand pile. She strongly agreed and said she would see to it in the
morning. During this day we began asking when we would go home and
how long they planned on our being there. None of them had a definite
answer. One of the workers said we could be there for two weeks.
I still could not figure out why they wanted to take all of us away.
What were they going to do with us? What had we done?
Police Continue Search for Missing Sect Teen; 533 Women, Children Are
in Custody By MIKE VON FREMD, CHRIS STRATHMANN, RICH McHUGH, IMAEYEN
IBANGA and EMILY FRIEDMAN ABC News April 7, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/AsSeenOnGMA/Story?id=4602341
As many as 533 women and
children were removed from the West Texas compound built by polygamist
leader Warren Jeffs, authorities said today.
Texas Children's Protective Services spokeswoman Marleigh Meisner
said. "This is not about numbers. This is about children,
children in imminent risk of harm," she said.
"In my opinion, this is the largest endeavor we've ever been involved
in in the state of Texas," Meisner said, adding that she was also
involved in the 1993 siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco
that left at least 86 people dead.
The original 200 women and children who were removed during the
weekend are secure in nearby San Angelo, but officials said most are
afraid to speak candidly about what happened inside their church.
LAST 15 CHILDREN MOVED OFF THE RANCH
http://www.rickross.com/reference/polygamy/polygamy805.html Girl
whose call triggered raid complained of being beaten, officials say
Child agency workers finish search of ranch, but investigation
continues. Austin American-Statesman/April 9, 2008 By Corrie
MacLaggan night: Azar - Working with law enforcement officials, "we
determined these children were in imminent danger of continued abuse.
We simply could not leave these children in homes where alleged
abusers also lived." The agency Monday night moved the last 15
children from the Yearning for Zion Ranch into temporary state custody
in San Angelo shelters, officials said. On their own, 139 women left
the ranch.
Some children interviewed did not provide the names of their parents
or identified multiple women as their mothers, the affidavit said.
"We do not know their real names at this time," Azar said. "We need to
know about relatives who may safely care for these children." Such
court orders are fairly typical - paternity is often an issue - but
this operation is on a larger scale, Azar said
Monday, April 7 notes:
e-mails
From: Kristi Jordan
Sent: Monday, April 07, 2008 6:59 PM
To: Steve McCraw; Robert BlaCk; Brian Newby; Mike Morrissey; Kris Heckmann; Kathy Walt;
Jack Colley; David Cabrales; Ken Armbrister
Cc: Jessica Olson; Brian Guthrie; Kyle Mitchell; Ann-Marie Price; Sophie Yanez; Jim
Harrison; Robert Bodisch; Gretchen Esse11; Jerry Tucker
Subject: RE: CONFIDENTIAL UPDATE: Eldorado Situation
There are currently 424 children and 133 adult women at the shelters in San Angelo, but we
expect those numbers to increase this evening. An additional shelter has been opened in
San Angelo to address the capacity issue at the existing San Angelo shelters.
A Salvation Army camp has been identified in Midlothian, so the current plan is to move
the children and women to Midlothian on Wednesday.
For your information, I have listed the media inquiries made to DFPS below.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks, Kristi stamped
"Information Redacted"
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-04-07-Polygamy_N.htm
401 children taken in raid of Texas polygamist compound
Posted 4/7/2008 10:38 PM | Comments13 | Recommend3 E-mail | Save | Print | Reprints & Permissions |
133 WOMEN WHO WANTED TO LEAVE ALSO WERE TAKEN
By Wendy Koch, USA TODAY Texas authorities said Monday they removed
401 children — mostly girls — from a polygamist compound in the
largest child-welfare operation in the state's history.
"We have taken legal, temporary custody" of the children, said
Marleigh Meisner, spokeswoman for Texas Child Protective Services.
Each of the children will be given a guardian and placed in foster
care.
In addition to the children, 133 women who "wanted to leave" also were
taken, Meisner said.
LETTING PARENTS LEAVE WITH CHILDREN IS RIGHT
Texas is handling the case appropriately by letting parents leave with
their children, said John Llewellyn, a retired Salt Lake County
sheriff's lieutenant and a former polygamist. "Something needs to be
done," he said. "You can't turn your back on something like this."
TOTALLY OUTRAGEOUS
Others say removing the children without talking to the girl at the
center of the complaint is wrong. "What the government is doing is
totally outrageous," said Bonnie Macri, executive director of the
activist group JEDI (Justice, Economic Dignity and Independence) Women
in Utah.
CPS Presser-FLDS Compound Raid 4/7/08
http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q=marleigh+meisner&d=74242242258572&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&w=3811cdd8,ed72fff0
Jay Hendricks
CBS 7 News
April 7, 2008
San Angelo, Texas - CPS spokeswoman Marleigh Meisner says they now
have custody of 401 children from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints compound in Eldorado.
Meisner addressed the media today at a briefing in San Angelo.
She said that they originally took custody of 18 children last Friday,
after a judge ruled they needed to be removed.
There are also 130 adults and over 200 lawmen are still st the
compound, looking for evidence
Texas takes legal custody of 401 sect children updated 10:25 p.m. EDT,
Mon April 7, 2008 (CNN) -- Authorities said Monday they have taken
legal custody of 401 children who lived on an isolated West Texas
polygamist retreat built by imprisoned "prophet" Warren Jeffs.
The children will be appointed lawyers and legal guardians in about
two weeks, she added.
SHELTER IS FILLING UP QUICKLY
Meisner said the temporary shelter is filling up quickly, and
officials are facing a "critical shortage" of foster homes. Officials
will try to keep siblings together, she added
they believe more children will be found at the ranch, but Mange
stopped short of saying they were being hidden.
Videos from above article:
See why police want every child removed
Watch Eldorado residents react to the removals
deseret news timeline: April 7: A judge orders children, now numbered
at 401, into temporary protective custody based on determination of
significant risk of harm. A total of 133 women have now left the
compound. Men on the ranch are not allowed to leave while
investigation continues. Twelve attorneys hired to defend church
members
http://www.handelonthelaw.com/news_details.aspx?News=5336&Date=4/1/2008
SARAH MAY BE IN THE GROUP USING A DIFFERENT NAME RAID ON POLYGAMIST
COMPOUND IN TEXAS Monday, April 07, 2008 ELDORADO, Texas (CNN) --
authorities have not identified the girl who called them with
allegations of abuse. The 16-year-old girl, who called authorities
last week with allegations of physical and sexual abuse at the
compound, may be in the group and using a different name, Marleigh
Meisner, a spokeswoman for Texas Child Protective Services, said at a
news conference Sunday.The others are now housed at a shelter in San
Angelo -- about 45 miles north of Eldorado -- where they are being
questioned about abuse, Meisner said.
EMOTIONAL FOR CHILDREN BUT THEY ARE WITH CARETAKERS
"It's certainly emotional for
the children, but they are with caretakers -- people that they're
accustomed to being with -- at the time," Meisner said. Many of the
adults at the shelter are parents or relatives of the children, she
said. Source:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/06/texas.ranch/index.html
Search Continues for Teen Who Sparked Raid on Sect
Posted Apr 7, 08 10:43 AM CDT in US
http://www.newser.com/story/23662/search-continues-for-teen-who-sparked-raid-on-sect.html
Her alleged husband denies knowing her, but "I am confident this girl
does indeed exist," one official told the Dallas Morning News. The
group's isolationist practices are making communication tough: The
kids don't know about crayons or breakfast cereal. Their leader was
imprisoned last year on incest and rape charges, but his followers
face no criminal action.
Baptist Press: Texas raid prompts First
Baptist ministry http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=27776 Posted on
Apr 7, 2008 | by Ken Walker ELDORADO, Texas (BP)--A Baptist
congregation housed about 80 women and children April 4-6 after a raid
on the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
(FLDS) near Eldorado, Texas.
CANADA AIRS AUTHOR OF FLDS ABUSES BY MEN
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080406/search_poly_080407/20080407?hub=CanadaAM
Stephen Singular, author of 'When Men become Gods' speaks on CTV's
Canada AM from Denver, Colorado on Monday, April 7, 2008. Singular
said he subtitled his book to acknowledge the fact that it's women
making the complaints to force authorities to act. "This has long
gone on inside some of these communities," he said. "The interesting
thing is it's always been the women who have come forward, or the
girls in some cases, and pushed the prosecution or pushed the police
to do something."
NO SIGN OF SARA, INVESTIGATORS CLAIM THEY ARE CHANGING NAMES
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23958307/
AP Mon., April. 7, 2008 ELDORADO, Texas - Authorities who removed 219
women and children from a polygamist compound were struggling Sunday
to determine whether they had the 16-year-old girl whose report of an
underage marriage led them to raid the sprawling rural property. Many
people at the compound, built by followers of jailed polygamist leader
Warren Jeffs, are related to one another and share similar names;
investigators said in some case they were giving different names at
different times.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
%%date: 4/8/08 Tuesday Mothers cooperate, Chickenpox spreads
- CNN: "Under aged girls forced into marriage and motherhood."
- "polygamist husband beat her while woman held baby"
- The Department of Family and Protective Services, of which CPS is a
part, has 715 staff have been deployed since last week. Including: 288
investigators 49 special investigators
- secret email "There has been an outbreak of chickenpox at the
shelter. I am stopping the move for tomorrow. … we must know what
their plan is for separation. This is getting out of hand. .. the
current scenario is to have the removal happen on Sunday night, 4/13.
- CPS involvement in the operation at the compound itself is over. All
the children who were living on the FLDS compound are now in CPS care.
15 more children were transported to the shelter last night, bringing
the total number of children in state custody to 416 children. 139
women are at the shelters.
- DFPS has now moved into the legal stage of this case.
- cell phones returned
- Another shelter was opened in San Angelo and more than 100 children
were moved into it in order to better meet their needs.
CPS, Texas Rangers and Mothers meet CPS workers, Texas Rangers, and
some FLDS mothers meet and come to some agreement. Mothers agree to
give Texas Rangers names of everyone in the shelters, their date of
birth, and the name of the mother for each child. Mothers also agree
to give CPS a list naming everyone in the shelters and their date of
birth. Texas Rangers and CPS in turn agree to reunite children with
mothers and return the cell phones. Later in the evening three ladies
accompany Texas Rangers, CPS workers, and constables to each shelter,
except #1 and #2, to help encourage the mothers and children to give
the needed information. Texas Rangers say they will be back in the
morning to do shelters #1 and #2. The mothers and children respond and
cell phones are returned. Tuesday, April 08, 2008 2:00:00 PM
DORAN GETS SWINTON'S PHONE NUMBER, TRIES CALLING THE PHONE GETS SILENCE
- Doran calls Swinton's phone http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_12386161
On Friday (5/15/09), Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran testified
he received the caller's telephone number on April 8 of last year but
did not share that information with Texas Rangers overseeing the
investigation until Kemp asked him about it. Swinton's phone records
show ***she received a call from Doran's cell phone on that day***. Doran
said he heard only silence in the 90-second call.
Fort Concho:
- Portable showers arrive
- Floors swept, mopped, bathrooms cleaned by women
- officials observe living conditions, close spacing of cots
- officials frustrated
- children interviewed away separated from mothers
- name and birth dates, repeatedly
- mothers talked to lawyers
- boys kick balls over the orange temporary fence
- cps notes children are very nice
- Mid afternoon Drove to San Angelo coliseum, much larger building
- Do they plan to keep us forever?
- mother don't hold my hand, they'll think it's abuse
- cell phones to be returned next day
- One family had chicken pox, all children were exposed
- Evening Mothers served with papers
Ranch:
8:00 PM The first papers were served on the men this evening in the
Meetinghouse, where the men filled the air with their songs. The
ladies and some of the men sang on the porches of the homes where some
few remained.
Tue apr 8 .. if judge approves transfer … transported by bus from San
Angelo shelter to Midlothian… due to security concerns with the
separation taking place in San Angelo, DFPS is planning to recommend
to the judge that the children and adults be allowed to board t he bus
together in San Angelo, but will be told prior to arriving that the
children will be staying in separate living quarters from the adult
women (mothers of 75 infants will remain in same quarters as infants).
Essentially, the remaining children will be separated from the adult
women who are not accompanying infants so that the interviewing can
proceed… security will need to be upgraded to prevent unauthorized
interaction with the children and escalating conflict.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/img/06-08/0604polygamists.pdf
april 8 notes:
http://familyrightsassociation.com/news/archive/2008/flds/april_2008.html
FLDS ranch leader says Texas raid 'matches anything in Russia or
Germany' By Brooke Adams The Salt Lake Tribune Article Last Updated:
04/08/2008 03:52:42 PM MDT Posted: 9:29 AM- SAN ANGELO, Texas ---
Sounding weary and anxious, Merrill Jessop spoke briefly to The Salt
Lake Tribune Tuesday about the law enforcement investigation now in
its fifth day at the YFZ Ranch in Eldorado. Jessop, who oversees the
ranch and is a presiding elder in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints, said a sizeable law enforcement force
remains at the ranch.
Lorene sits on the bed and relives the horror of captivity in the
coliseum. Lorene: We were on the floor, the concrete floor, and
there's rows and rows and rows and rows of cots. We've been taken from
our nice, clean homes, and brought together into a place where the
children are so close one child coughs and the whole room gets sick.
Every night there would be children throwing up. I don't feel like
they had the child's best interest in mind at all.
http://www.trenthead.com/2008/04/the-buses-are-loaded/
Photos - buses are loaded to Fort Concho
transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0804/08/lkl.01.html 4/8/2008
LARRY KING LIVE: Tonight, prime time exclusive -- escape from polygamy
-- a sect's secrets out in the open. Under aged girls forced into
marriage and motherhood. Shocking truths revealed by those who got
away. We go inside the raid on the compound in Texas
http://familyrightsassociation.com/news/archive/2008/flds/april_2008.html
FLDS ranch leader says Texas raid 'matches anything in Russia or
Germany' By Brooke Adams The Salt Lake Tribune Article Last Updated:
04/08/2008 03:52:42 PM MDT
BOYS IN FIELD TREATED WELL: SHOOK HIS HEAD "NO"
a group of 9 young boys were walking around a grassy parade field.
The boys approached the fence at one end of the field, where reporters
called out to ask if they were being treated well. One young man
shook his head, no. As reporters moved closer to the fence, a CPS
worker called the boys back to the buildings. One older boy then
appeared to be being scolded by the worker. Officers then approached
the media and told them to move across the street. The boys then
returned to the middle of the field to play soccer.
http://origin.sltrib.com/polygamy/ci_8851095
http://familyrightsassociation.com/news/archive/2008/flds/april_2008.html
FLDS ranch leader says Texas raid 'matches anything in Russia or
Germany' By Brooke Adams The Salt Lake Tribune Article Last Updated:
04/08/2008 03:52:42 PM MDT Posted: 9:29 AM- SAN ANGELO, Texas ---
Sounding weary and anxious, Merrill Jessop spoke briefly to The Salt
Lake Tribune Tuesday about the law enforcement investigation now in
its fifth day at the YFZ Ranch in Eldorado.
He said the ability to communicate with those outside -- and family
members taken from the ranch -- is rapidly diminishing as officers
confiscate cell phones "as fast as they find them." Tom Green County
District Judge Barbara Walther issued a new search warrant Sunday that
allows officers to take away cell phones and other communication
devices. Jessop said that those at the ranch have no Internet or
television access and have no way to know what has become of the 133
women and 401 children taken from the ranch since last Thursday. He
expressed concern for their well-being
link, missing article: April 8: Girl says polygamist husband beat her while woman held baby
http://www.keyetv.com/mostpopular/story.aspx?content_id=f6c951a1-e7b0-4954-8398-2b38ac393bb7
BEATINGS AND RAPE AT THE RANCH
5:41PM Affidavit: Girl reports beatings, rape at polygamist ranch By
LISA SANDBERG and JANET ELLIOTT Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Austin Bureau SAN ANGELO — The 16-year-old girl whose call prompted a
raid on a West Texas polygamist compound said she had been repeatedly
beaten and sexually assaulted by her husband, according to documents
released today by the state.
SHORTAGE OF FOSTER HOMES
CROWDED BUILDINGS AT FORT CONCHO SLEEPING ON COTS
The removal of the children from the isolated compound threatens to
overwhelm the local court and foster care system. "We had a critical
shortage (of foster homes) before last week. So certainly that's a
little bit overwhelming," Meisner said. Already the children and
mothers are living in crowded buildings at Fort Concho, the historic
military site where they have been sleeping on cots since Sunday.
Meisner said the children could soon be taken to other facilities
around the state while awaiting foster homes
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5682336.html
** authorities were unable to take action until there was a
(UNVERIFIED) complaint or report of abuse **
RECORD CHILD WELFARE RESCUE
http://www.crimeandjustice.us/forums/lofiversion/index.php?t9366.html
WEB Posted: 04/08/2008 09:58 AM CDT Janet Elliott Express-News Austin
Bureau SAN ANGELO — Some 400 children who wore pioneer clothing and
lived an austere, isolated life with adults at a West Texas polygamist
retreat are now part of the largest child welfare operation in Texas
history.
Harvey Hilderbran, R-Kerrville, to push for changes in the marriage
law, including increasing the minimum age at which teenagers can marry
to 16, if they get parental consent or a court order. Previous law
allowed someone as young as 14 to get married with parental consent.
"Had this bill not passed, there would have been quite a few of them
that were married and were pregnant for instance — or married with
kids — that were under 16, that they could not have done much about,"
he said. "I feel pretty darn good. I've got some pride in it. It's one
of those things I knew it was the right thing to do."
Houston Chronicle Staff Writer Roma Khanna in Houston and Express-News Staff Writer Peggy Fikac in the Austin Bureau contributed to this report.
NO BOOKS, NO LAUGHTER, NO RADIO, NO INTERNET. PRIMITIVE AS CAN BE...
http://www.crimeandjustice.us/forums/lofiversion/index.php?t9366.html
The Life of a Polygamous Woman Warren Jeffs Had Strict Rules Governing
His Female Followers By DAN HARRIS, CHRIS STRATHMANN, KIRAN KHALID and
IMAEYEN IBANGA April 8, 2008 — "He allowed no television, radio or
Internet access. Even laughter was forbidden. "He said, 'No
children's books with animals doing people things. Nature is OK.
Disney is not,'" said former member Lori Chatwin, who left the group
four years ago. However, he did allow iPods, which people could use
to listen to hours of his sermons, and his control extended beyond
what people could read, see and wear. He also controlled who married
whom and, he claimed, who got to go to heaven. Women who don't like
the rules are told to "keep sweet." "Keep sweet, it's exactly that.
No matter what, it's a matter of life and death.
http://wwwwakeupamericans-spree.blogspot.com/2008/04/documents-detail-abuse-at-yfz-ranch.html
April 08, 2008 Documents Detail Abuse at YFZ Ranch The proverbial lid
seems to have not just been blown off of incidents surrounding the YFZ
Ranch in Eldorado, Texas, but to have undergone violent explosive
decompression.
response: yes, I agree, a crime to send children back to an
environment that has already been shown and now a matter of record, to
have sexually abused children. Susan
http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/About/News/2008/2008-04-08_news.asp
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
All the children are now in our care and CPS involvement in the operation at the compound itself is over.
15 more children were transported to the shelter last night, bringing the total number of children in state custody to 416 children. All these children are now in foster care and we are exploring placement options that give them the stability they need while we continue our investigations. (139 women)
We have now moved into the legal stage of this case we will be limited in what we can say in the future.
Additional information
DFPS received a [false] report that a 16 year old girl was being sexually and physically abused. A girl called a family violence shelter twice (over the weekend of March 29-30) She was seeking help to leave the compound and indicated she was wife number "7" of a 49 year old man and who she married when she was 15.
The report indicated she had been at the compound for three years and she had been physically abuse since shortly after she arrived. She said her "husband" beat her and hurt her whenever he became angry and in one case broke some of her ribs. She said she got her hands on someone else's cell phone and called the shelter for help. The Shelter called in the report to the Abuse/Neglect hotline.
During the investigation CPS investigators found a number of young, pregnant, teenage girls, [there were no pregnant teen girls] as well as several teenage girls who had already given birth to children.[these were never identified either]
Based on that ann other observations and interviews, investigators determined that there was a widespread practice of conditioning young girls to accept becoming the "spiritual" wives of older men and to have sex with them.
Based on the finding of our joint with investigation law enforcement CPS concluded these children were in immediate danger of continuing abuse and a district judge agreed. [appeals court disagreed, CPS was wrong]
Continuing Investigation
As needed, CPS will ask the court for orders to aide the investigation and to sort out exactly who these children are and who they are related to.
That includes orders for DNA testing for any person who claims to be a parent or is suspected of being a parent of these children.
We will ask the court to order any parent or suspected parent to provide our agency with the names and addresses of all relatives of these children.
And we are also asking the court to order each parent to provide identifying documents for each child, such as birth certifications, social security numbers, and marriage records.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
%%date: 4/9/08 wednesday Rampant Abuse. Children Examined
Children
" Children to be strip searched.
" Tornado
* CPS worker: "There's been a mistake"
* CPS worker: "my mother was a druggie"
* Picture, boys kicking ball at Fort Concho
* 12 cases of chicken pox identified, families isolated
* Headline "Sex Abuse 'Rampant' at Polygamist Ranch"
http://www.trenthead.com/2008/11/yfz-revisited-april-6-2008-media-and-diversity/
Trent shoots Oprah interviewing Diversity foundation with Carolyn
Jessop
DFPS and other state agencies continued to work to supervise and provide for the needs of 416 children who removed from the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints compound and placed in state custody. All the children, and 139 adult women, were housed in several shelters in San Angelo.
The Depatment of State Health Services is coordinating medical and mental health services for the children. Health clinics and screenings are being held. 12 cases of chicken pox were identified and those children and their families were isolated. They contracted the virus before arriving in state custody. So far the screenings indicate that the physical and mental health of the children is generally good.
http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/About/News/2008/2008-04-09_chronology.asp
News Brief: Wednesday, April 9, 2008
DFPS and other state agencies continue to care for and supervise 416 children who were removed from the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints compound near Eldorado and placed in state custody.
The Department of State health Services is overseeing all medical and mental health services for the children.
DSHS is performing on-site health screenings and it appears the children are generally in good health.
There have been a typical number of minor upper respiratory and mild gastrointestinal ailments for a group of this size.
About a dozen children have what appears to be chicken pox, which they contracted prior to coming into state custody. It takes 14-16 days for the virus to manifest itself. Chicken pox is usually a benign childhood disease and none of the children is seriously ill. These children and their families were relocated to another building to separate them from the other children. It is believed the children in the shelters have not been immunized, but some may have natural immunity from having contracted chicken-pox in the past.
The children appear to be in good mental health and are adapting as well as can be expected.
25 mental health professionals are on hand, along with four doctors and ten nurses. 14 more doctors and medical assistants are arriving soon.
http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/About/News/2008/2008-04-09_news.asp
Wed April 9 The judge is not going to allow the move to Midlothian to
take place. The City of San Angelo cannot continue to support this
operation, so the state will assume that responsibility Monday
afternoon. Everyone will be moved to the San Angelo Coliseum, which
will be made available by the city as of Monday afternoon. The
children will stay in the coliseum at least until April 17th, which is
the first mandatory court date There is still concern about infectious
diseases with so many people in a constrained area, but the coliseum
will make the children more comfortable than their current situation
in part because it will have air conditioning. The lt Gov has called
and wants to be personally briefed.
April 9 This is what took place at home:
Lots of officers milled around; there was much unrest. They brought in
prison laborers to "clean up" around the houses and public areas. The
officers left in groups throughout the morning and early afternoon.
The walking "privileges" were restored by noon. The vehicles that had
been impounded were returned throughout the afternoon. The main gate
was back under our control by mid-afternoon. All the officers were
gone, but with the threat that they "may return."
At the Wells Fargo Pavilion:
Shannon came and checked on me and wondered if she could do anything
for me or Mary. Jacob's glasses had broken during this time, and
Mary's lens had popped out of her eyeglass frame during the night. On
her own accord, Shannon told us she would take these glasses to
Wal-Mart and see if they could fix them. She later returned with both
Mary's and Jacob's glasses repaired and new ones on the way for Jacob,
since his glasses were under warranty. She did many kind things for
us. Later that day, she came and told some of us ladies good-bye and
that she wouldn't be there the next day. We never saw her again. I
pray Heavenly Father will bless her for her many kind deeds to us.
They began doing medical exams on the children. I cooperated and took
my boys to a large side room. They had metal partitions with sheets
draped over them for their medical exam rooms. This side room looked
as if it had something to do with the rodeos. The doctor who saw my
children was a very kind lady. She did a normal well-child checkup on
each one. Parley told her about his eye injury. I gave her a general
background on the boys' overall health. She said they looked really
good. Their growth charts looked great.
After the medical exams, we all went outside. The washers they had set
up drained into a Rubbermaid bin. When it got full, a pump turned on,
and the water would go through a hose to a large grate in the road and
then to the sewer ponds. My boys were very intrigued with this setup
and really liked to watch it. An older man that was on the state
disaster crew (Baptist Church) would always turn on the pumps whenever
he saw my boys coming. We then made our way over to where all the
children were.
A CPS worker I had first met at the stables came and found me. She had
been kind to me, but I later wondered if she really was a friend. She
said that they were ready to investigate my boys and me and that she
would watch the boys right outside the door of the room where they
investigated us. Having been advised to cooperate, I said, "ok." This
was hard to do because I had never just let my children be with
complete strangers, whom I knew nothing about. We walked back to this
side room, where there was a little office.
My boys and I walked in together. I tried to help the boys feel ok
about this and not fight back on it. Two CPS investigators greeted us,
a man and a woman. I shook their hands and had the boys shake their
hands and tell them their names. We sat down together for a few
minutes, and then they wanted to speak to me alone. My heart was
pounding rapidly as I let my three boys go just outside the door with
the CPS worker I had met at the stables. I felt I could trust her
since it seemed that she had reached out to be a friend. Parley was
very concerned about this. I told him to stand right outside the door
and knock if he needed anything.
These two people interviewed me. Since the time when Parley became
concerned on the child-abuse issue, the thoughts kept going through my
mind, "What is child abuse to these people?" So the first thing I did
was to ask them. They gave me some examples. It made me sick to hear
the accounts of child abuse. I told them, "My boys do not know this
kind of stuff even exists." I told them, "I've been walking on tiptoes
because we are constantly watched by so many CPS workers. I don't know
if I told my boys, 'no more granola bars' whether they would write me
down for child abuse." They assured me that this wasn't child abuse
and that I had the right as a parent to manage their eating, bedtimes,
and so forth.
They asked questions about where I had lived, how long I had been in
Texas, and whether we had more than one mother in our home. I answered
the best I could. They asked who the biological father was, and I told
them. When they wanted to know about the other ladies in our home, I
told them they could answer those questions for themselves. I gave
them an overall view of our everyday living. I told them how the boys
slept on a different floor from the girls and that each child had
their own bed where they slept every night. I asked them to please not
expose my boys to the awful things of the world. I gave them a quick
idea of each boy's personality. I let them copy my legal documents and
the boys'.
The woman investigator asked me if there was anything she could do for
me. I said, "Is this event all over the media?" She said, "Yes, it
is." I said, "I have some dear parents who I know are yearning to know
my condition. I would be so grateful if I could call them." She
seemed very affected by our situation. She walked me outside, gave me
her cell phone, and let me call my mother to tell her we were ok.
During this interview, Parley knocked on the door and said, "Mother,
the CPS lady is asking Jacob a lot of questions. She asked him if he
wanted to go to her home and live with her." I about wanted to cry; I
felt I was not in control of this whole situation. After they were
done with me, they interviewed the boys. At this time they brought in
another investigator to help because there were so many of us. I was
standing there by the door, waiting for the boys, when one of the
workers asked me if I would please walk down with another CPS worker
to tell the other ladies about this procedure. Many of the ladies were
resisting being interviewed.
One of the CPS supervisors had just finished meeting with some of the
ladies on child abuse. I suggested that maybe we should talk to these
investigators first and educate them a little on the kind of people we
are so that they could understand why this was so traumatic for the
children and for us mothers.
Our ladies told them that our children were very scared of them. They
would see the red fingernail polish and be terrified that these
people's hands were bleeding. They would see the earrings and think
they were hurting themselves to put these fingernail clippers on their
ears. We have nothing against the black people, but our children have
never seen them before. What we had was a culture shock with these
little children. One CPS worker said, "I think I'm catching on. It's
like taking our children and putting them with the Africans that don't
wear any clothes and have bones through their noses." We all laughed.
We began telling them that it was against our religion to raise our
voices at our children, and that we invite them to good works through
love. I explained to them this example: "You know how you feel when
your child does something right or makes an accomplishment?that sweet
joyful feeling you have inside your heart?" They smiled and said,
"Yes." "Well, we are taught that when our children do a wrong thing,
even something terrible, we must make sure we can still feel that same
sweet joy and love that we do when they do right. That takes an effort
of self control and a reaching for Heavenly Father's love to flow
through us to that child." One CPS lady's face lit up, and she said,
"I wish I could take this seed and go out from here and spread it
everywhere." She said with tears in her eyes, "My mother was a
druggy."
During our conversation this lady said, "CPS messed up. To tell you
the truth, CPS messed up."
They wondered if we had a manual on raising children. We told them,
"No." But we do live by the Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and
Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. They asked if this book was
available. We got one and showed where in the Doctrine and Covenants
it spoke of how our human relations should be. They asked where they
could buy this book, and we told them that it was available at any LDS
Bookstore. At this time, it felt for a moment as though they could
begin to understand.
This evening it became very windy and stormy. Most of the children
were asleep when we heard some sirens going off. I had never heard
them before. The CPS workers started running around and seemed very
anxious. They told us the sirens were a tornado warning and had us get
all the children off their cots, take them over to the strong walls of
a big room, and have a pillow for each one to put over their heads.
Some children slept through the storm, while other children were
crying. This possible natural disaster seemed peaceful as I
contemplated what had happened over the past few days. After a while,
the storm died down, and we put the children back on their cots. Thus
ended a very eventful day
april 9 notes:
Houston shelters, foster parents ready for girls from polygamist ranch
05:50 PM CDT on Wednesday, April 9, 2008
By Courtney Zubowski / 11 News (video)
HOUSTON—Arrow Child and Family Ministries is preparing for what could be the agency’s biggest endeavor yet: an influx of young girls taken from a polygamist compound in West Texas.
CPS took custody of hundreds of girls earlier this week, and some of them could be heading for shelters in the Houston area – shelters like the Arrow Retreat Center.
“We have two group home-type settings that can take in 24 kids comfortably and then a camp kind of setting for another 75 beds or so,” Mark Tennant of Arrow Child and Family Ministries, said.
RIFE WITH SEXUAL ABUSE
http://dev.nysun.com/news/national/documents-tell-sex-abuse-polygamist-camp
Documents Tell Of Sex Abuse at Polygamist Camp By MICHELLE ROBERTS |
April 9, 2008 ELDORADO, Texas — A polygamist compound with hundreds of
children was rife with sexual abuse, child welfare officials allege in
court documents, with girls spiritually married to much older men as
soon as they reached puberty and boys groomed to perpetuate the
cycle...her 50-year-old husband beat and raped her. Days after raiding
the compound, officials still aren’t sure where the girl is.
SHE IS WITH US AND TOO FRIGHTENED TO COME FORWARD
Affidavit: Teen bride identifies suspect as 'spiritual' husband
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/09/texas.ranch/index.html 12:32
p.m. EDT, Thu April 10, 2008 Marleigh Meisner, a spokeswoman for the
state's Child Protective Services, said agency officials believe all
of the children who lived at the ranch have been removed and are
"hopeful" Sarah is among them. "We believe, but can't confirm, that
she is with us and that she's simply too frightened to come forward,"
Meisner said. "This is a situation where the family is an entire
community and the dynamics involved in that make it very difficult for
her to trust us."
Sandra Guerra-Cantu, a doctor with the Texas Department of State
Health Services, said most of the children are in good health --
though a dozen have chicken pox.
INFORMANT (FLORA) RELIABLE, TRUE AND CORRECT
details from the informant, which included the sect's practice of
marrying teen girls to older men, were consistently "proven to be
reliable, true and correct
WOMEN COULD LEAVE AT ANY TIME (AND NEVER SEE THEIR KIDS AGAIN)
* 139 adult women have voluntarily gone to the shelters. Meisner said
the women are not in state custody and are free to leave at any time,
although as of Wednesday afternoon none had
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-compound9apr09,1,2635622.story
Teen mothers reported at polygamist sect's compound By Miguel
Bustillo, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer April 9, 2008 HOUSTON --
Child welfare investigators who entered a polygamist compound in West
Texas this weekend (ACTULLY DIDN'T FIND ANY) found many pregnant
teenagers and underage girls who said they were forced to marry,
according to court documents unsealed Tuesday.
...enter into "spiritual marriages" arranged by the polygamist sect
and to begin having sex with older men and giving birth as soon as
they turned 13 or 14. The men, she added, were "having sexual
relationships with a number of women, some of whom are minors." "A
number of the children interviewed were unable or unwilling to provide
the names of their biological parents or identified multiple mothers
and were unable or unwilling to provide information such as their own
birth dates," McFadden said in the affidavit, adding that adults also
could not state the full names of many children. Two surnames --
Jeffs and Jessop -- came up repeatedly in the court documents.
OUTRAGE Merrill Jessop, who oversees the YFZ compound -- which stands
for Yearning for Zion -- told the Salt Lake Tribune. "What's coming we
don't know. The hauling off of women and children matches anything in
Russia or Germany."
CONDITIONED [FOR ABUSE] FROM BIRTH dead:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080409/NATION/330713553/1002/NATION
Polygamist sect conditioned girls from birth April 9, 2008 The
children are in foster care and will be placed in homes over the next
few weeks, said Family and Protective Services department spokesman
Darrell Azar. "We found a number of young teenagers who were pregnant
and some who had already given birth," he said. "Our investigation
determined there was a widespread practice of conditioning young girls
and getting them ready to become the spiritual wives of older men and
have sex with them." Whether the 16-year-old girl who made the call to
authorities is among the children has not been determined. The women
and children are giving mixed stories to investigators, Mr. Azar said.
"We need to figure out who these children are," he said, adding the
department likely would request court orders for DNA testing as the
investigation continues. "Their names change. They have similar
names," he said. "We're not getting enough information and enough
similar information."
IT WAS TOTAL MISERY ... THIS IS A JUSTIFIED RAID SAYS BISTLINE
http://www.rickross.com/reference/polygamy/polygamy805.html Girl
whose call triggered raid complained of being beaten, officials say
Child agency workers finish search of ranch, but investigation
continues. Austin American-Statesman/April 9, 2008 By Corrie
MacLaggan The 16-year-old girl whose outcry triggered the largest
child welfare operation in state history told a West Texas family
violence shelter that she was wife No. 7 of a man who choked her, hit
her in the chest and forced himself on her sexually, according to
court documents
"It was total misery for them," said Ben Bistline, now 72. He was 18
when authorities raided the remote community on the Arizona-Utah line,
taking 200 children into custody as part of an effort to wipe out a
"nest of polygamy." Bistline was not rounded up in the 1953 raid, but
the woman he married later in life was 15 when she and her seven
siblings were shipped to Phoenix, far from friends and family.
Despite the potential new hardships for the children and women in
Texas, Bistline said the raid is appropriate if children are being
forced into marriages. "This situation in Texas is a justifiable
raid," he said.
RIFE WITH SEXUAL ABUSE
http://cbs3.com/national/cps.documents.released.2.695044.html
Apr 9, 2008 9:49 pm US/Eastern Officials: Polygamist Ranch Rife With
Sexual Abuse ELDORADO, Texas (CBS News) ? Young teenage girls at a
polygamist compound in West Texas were required to have sex in a
soaring white temple after they were married in sect-recognized
unions, according to court documents unsealed Wednesday.
Court documents detail polygamist sex allegations Apr. 9, 2008 07:00
PM Los Angeles Times
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/04/09/20080409compound0409-ON.html
The discovery of the bed, which was ruffled and contained a long
strand of what looked to be a female's hair, was disclosed in an
affidavit ...told by a "confidential informant" (Flora!) that men used
it to have sex with underage girls, according to court documents
unsealed Wednesday.. When an investigator asked one girl her age, the
affidavit states, the girl turned to her husband, Lee Roy Jessop, who
said, "You are 18." The girl then told the investigator that she was
the fourth wife of Jessop, 33, and that "he was still married to the
other three wives" in the eyes of the sect
Some activists who help women who leave the religious sect said on
Wednesday they are convinced that Texas has the wrong suspect - they
believe that the Dale Barlow in Arizona is not the 16-year-old's
husband.
deseret news timeline
April 9: Dale Evans Barlow, the accused abuser, denies allegations,
says he hasn't been in Texas since 1977. Arizona probation officials
agree it's unlikely he has been in Texas recently. Records and other
items are seized amid allegations such seizure could violate
pastor/parishioner confidentiality. A Deseret News/KSL poll shows 62
percent of Utahns find the raid "probably or definitely "
justified.April 10: Three mothers report to the Deseret News they are
being denied access to their children. Officials in Utah and Arizona
say they hope information from Texas raid will help them in their
investigations into other FLDS enclaves
ROBERTS: CNN was given rare access inside the compound. "They are
learning terrible things just from the questions that are being asked.
Things that they have never been exposed to. They have been so
protected here. So protected."
Children's innocence threatened CPS workers come and inform us they
are going to do medical exams on the children; the children must be
stripped. We answer them, "No way!" Wednesday, April 09, 2008 8:00:00
AM
Privileges restored. Officers leave Ranch Lots of officers stirring
around. 'Prison laborers' clean up around the houses and public areas.
Officers leaving in groups throughout the morning and early afternoon.
Walking privileges restored by noon. Vehicles impounded are returned
throughout the afternooon. By mid-afternoon all officers are gone with
the threat that they 'may return'. Wednesday, April 09, 2008 8:00:00
AM
A young boy drinks unknown liquid A small child picks up a spray
bottle filled with liquid that smells like cleaner and squirts it in
his mouth. The bottle is not labled. The mother is concerned and goes
to the CPS workers. Within five minutes they are hurrying the child
off to their on-site medical clinic. They determine it is just
chlorinated water that smells like cleaner. Wednesday, April 09, 2008
5:16:00 PM
Heart-broken three-year-old A three-year-old girl cries aloud, long
and hard for approximately one and a half hours until she is hoarse
and falls asleep. She keeps crying out her mother's name. Her mother,
gone to an out-of-state appointment when the raid happened, has been
trying to get into the shelters where her children are, but has not
been able to yet. 11:00 PM The little three-year-old is coughing hard
and wheezing badly. CPS workers are notified and decide to send her to
the hospital on an ambulance. Wednesday, April 09, 2008 9:00:00 PM
Tornado storm Received tornado warning. CPS workers flood the room
ordering everyone to the safest place. Outside the wind is fierce and
lightening flashes are seen every few seconds. A paramedic team pulls
up to shelter #1 and rush in, bringing their things with them. The
workers use all their strength to pull the doors shut. Tornado sirens
scream and it is hailing. The lightening and wind continue. Mothers
and children huddle together in the middle of the room, blankets and
pillows sheilding the children. CPS workers ask mothers and children
to sing, which they do. Wednesday, April 09, 2008 11:15:00 PM
Three-year-old taken to the hospital Ambulance team cannot go anywhere
so they have started an albuterol nebulizer treatment on the
three-year-old girl. Word comes that the tornado warning is cleared.
The ambulance carrying the three-year-old leaves shelter #1, headed to
the hospital. CPS workers allow one caretaker to go with the child.
CPS is asked, "Will you allow her mother to meet her at the hospital?"
"Absolutely not!" was the emphatic answer. "The state has custody of
this child. No one else can be there." Wednesday, April 09, 2008
11:34:00 PM
notes:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/09/us/09raid.html?_r=1&fta=y&oref=slogin
Court Files Detail Claims of Sect’s ‘Pattern’ of Abuse By GRETEL C.
KOVACH Published: April 9, 2008 SAN ANGELO, Tex. — Texas authorities
released court documents on Tuesday detailing accusations of a
“widespread pattern” of physical and sexual abuse of children by a
polygamous sect.
DEPRIVED OF NUTRITION, FORCED TO SIT IN CLOSETS, DENIED EDUCATION
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/09/AR2008040904065.html
Documents Offer Details On Practices At Ranch
By Sylvia Moreno
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 10, 2008; Page A02
SAN ANGELO, Tex., April 9
Court documents released late Tuesday also said children at the ranch
"are deprived of nutrition as a method of punishment, as well as being
forced to sit in closed closets as a method of punishment." In a
petition asking for a court order to remove the children from the
compound, officials said a number of the children who were interviewed
were not able to provide the names of their biological parents or such
information as their birth dates or birthplaces. "The Department is
concerned about the possibility that some of these children have been
denied a proper education," the petition said.
BARLOW THE WRONG GUY, PHONE CALL WAS NEVER CORROBORATED
FLDS's Barlow says he's wrong guy
Search finally finishes at the ranch
Deseret Morning News
By Nancy Perkins and Brian West
Deseret Morning News
Published: April 10, 2008
The man whose alleged actions prompted Texas officials to raid the
polygamous ranch and seize all 416 of the children there says he could
not possibly have done what he's accused of doing. "I do not know
this girl that they keep asking about," Dale Barlow told the Deseret
Morning News Wednesday night. "And I have not been to Texas since I
was a young man back in 1977."
"While he has been on probation, Mr. Barlow has not been given any travel permits to Texas."
Attorneys for the FLDS Church also say Barlow was not at the ranch and
believe no child with the girl's name was at the ranch, either,
according to a memorandum filed Wednesday. They also argued that the
phone call from the girl was never corroborated and argued that such
information did not justify the issuance of any search warrant.
http://www.newser.com/story/23886/sex-abuse-rampant-at-polygamist-ranch.html
Sex Abuse 'Rampant' at Polygamist Ranch Posted Apr 9, 08 9:34 AM CDT
in US, Crime & Courts (Newser) – Young girls at a polygamous compound
were readied for "spiritual marriages" to much older men as soon as
they hit puberty, the AP reports. Papers submitted to a Texas court
detail a "pattern of abuse" at the ranch, where young boys were forced
to marry underage girls and girls in their early teens were required
to bear children.
THEY DON'T DESERVE THIS
http://fieldnotes.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/04/10/874422.aspx
Texas town hit by polygamy, then tornado Posted: Thursday, April 10,
2008 10:48 AM By Don Teague, NBC News Correspondent But mostly, they
worry about the children and young women who’ve been removed from the
compound, and they sincerely pray for their well-being. It was surely
a coincidence, that just hours after police announced their search of
the compound had ended last night, tornado sirens began ringing across
San Angelo. Minutes later, the city was pounded by a ferocious storm.
I woke up after midnight, with hail pounding the roof of my hotel, and
word that a tornado had been spotted in town, just half a mile away.
They don’t deserve this," I thought. And I meant it. Sometimes, when
it rains it pours.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
%%date: 4/10/08 thursday Lawyers arrive, They're going to get me.
Thursday April 10
* Thursday Cell phones returned?
* Crying 3 yr old returns from hospital , "They're going to get me." Several times through the night the girl wakes up crying, "They're going to get me! They're coming to get me!" (meaning the CPS workers.)
* Mothers allowed to talk with lawyers hired by FLDS
* CPS Lawyers had to wait 1 ½ hours before being allowed inside.
* CPS listening to lawyer conversations
* Children given sidewalk chalk write "We want to go home" CPS tells workers that children and mothers want to stay in shelters
* Details of search warrant released
* CHILD SEX IN SECT'S TEMPLE IS SUSPECTED
* Horror of the Texas Child Sex Cult Ranch
* Texas cult's girls required to have sex in temple
Thursday April 10 notes:
it is made to appear, by implication, that contact between Texas Law
Enforcement in the person of Texas Ranger Brooks long was initiated on
April the 13th, 2008, a Sunday, three days after the conclusion of the
raid at YFZ on the 10th. On that day a warrant was executed by the FBI
at YFZ.
POLLS SAYS MOST IN UTAH AGREE WITH REMOVAL
http://deseretnews.com/article/content/mobile/1,5620,695269082,00.html?printView=true
Majority of Utahns say removal of FLDS children was justified
Copyright 2008 Deseret Morning News By Brian West Deseret News
Published: April 10, 2008
Most Utahns agreed with that decision, and
nearly half of Utahns believe local law enforcement does not do enough
to prosecute crime in polygamist communities, according to a poll
conducted Tuesday and Wednesday by Dan Jones & Associates.
In a statewide poll of 314 people, 31 percent of Utahns said
authorities were definitely justified in removing the children and
another 31 percent believed the actions were probably justified; 13
percent of those polled believed the actions were probably not
justified and 6 percent said they were definitely not justified. The
poll has a 5.7 percent margin of error.
The poll also showed that 48 percent believe Utah officials do not do
enough to prosecute crime inside polygamist communities, according to
the poll. Only 7 percent said local law enforcement definitely does
enough to prosecute and 30 percent believed they probably do enough.
Utahns appeared split on whether officials should prosecute polygamy
without evidence of child abuse. Fifty percent said polygamy alone
should not be prosecuted, while 41 percent believed it should.
HeraldNet: Texas cult's girls required to have sex in templeApr 10,
2008 ... SAN ANGELO, Texas -- Young teenage girls at a polygamist
compound in West ... said the affidavit signed by Texas Ranger Leslie
Brooks Long. ...
www.heraldnet.com/article/20080410/NEWS02/187137766/0/NEWS01
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/04/10/polygamist-texas.html Police
leave Texas polygamist ranch, investigation ongoing Last Updated:
Thursday, April 10, 2008 | 6:12 PM ET Comments4Recommend23CBC News
picture: doran
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-compound10apr10,1,2512549.story
By Miguel Bustillo, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer April 10, 2008 Bed
discovered in sect temple An informant says that it was used for sex
between underage girls and adult men at the polygamist compound. the
FBI confirmed that it had joined the investigation. FBI officials
declined to elaborate
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK1co0FrLrk&feature=related Pilot:
Temple Raid Most Tense Moment "they brought in dirt to create the
field" "well designed, would be proud to live in"
Texas cult child abuse allegations released
Last Update: 4/10 6:38 am
Authorities say the compound near Eldorado was no idyllic recreation of 19th-century prairie life.
link, missing article: April 8: Girl says polygamist husband beat her while woman held baby
http://www.keyetv.com/mostpopular/story.aspx?content_id=f6c951a1-e7b0-4954-8398-2b38ac393bb7
Texas cult child abuse allegations released
Last Update: 4/10 6:38 am
'
The federal government is now searching church property owned by the
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints located
near Eldorado. But state officials say their search is over.
According to the FLDS church's attorneys, the FBI is now executing a
federal search warrant inside the Yearning for Zion Ranch and
startling new details explaining why the state raided this compound
almost a week ago are now officially public.
Horror of the Texas Child Sex Cult Ranch By Anton Antonowicz Mirror
(United Kingdom) April 10, 2008 Hundreds of children bred for sex
Girls of 10 forced to wed older men
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/2008/04/10/horror-of-the-child-sex-cult-89520-20378179/
what they discovered stunned even the most hardened detectives. The
teen caller was just one of hundreds of young girls who had apparently
been bred for a child sex cult. According to court documents, girls
born into the cult were married to much older men as soon as they
reached puberty. And boys were groomed to perpetuate the cycle.
The women spent their days tilling the fields and quilting and are
thought to have stood by as the men preyed on the younger girls.
4-10-08 Thursday
This was the day we got our cell phones back! It also was a day when
I began to feel a change in these CPS workers?they became cold. This
was also the day we met with Ken Eisenberg and Jim Pearl, our
attorneys. We had to divide into two groups so that half of the
mothers could go back to the side room and talk with these lawyers
while the other half would be with the children. A CPS supervisor told
us that our attorneys had just arrived and were ready to talk to us.
But she said there was one thing they had to do before we could talk
to them. They had us walk back into the side room while the lady over
this supervisor, a black lady, decided whether we looked 18 or older.
Everyone that went back there actually was 18 or older. She pulled
about half of the ladies away, saying they were not old enough. They
went and got their ID and showed her, and she let them go over to
where the attorneys were. There were a couple of ladies that did not
have their ID with them, and they were not permitted to talk to these
lawyers.
After the supervisor nervously cleared out all the CPS staff, we
breathed a sigh of relief to be out of their watch for a few moments.
Our lawyers were disgusted with CPS for making them sit outside the
building for 1 ½ hours before they let them in. The supervisor had
told us that they had only been there for 5 minutes. Our time was
short with these lawyers because they had other appointments to meet.
We didn't even know if we could trust these men. They told us they had
been hired by the church to find attorneys for all of us. They told us
that Lyle Jeffs had been the one they had been in contact with.
Pauline was there and asked if she could verify this. They dialed
Uncle Lyle's number, and Pauline talked to him for a very short time.
He told her that he had sent them. We then felt it was safe to talk
with them. They gave us some information and took our names down. It
was good to be told again of our Civil rights.
As we walked out, a couple of us turned around and saw some CPS
workers behind the curtained partitions. They had been there the
whole time listening to our conversation with the attorneys. I
couldn't believe it! When one man realized that he had been seen, he
quickly stepped back behind the partition. I just couldn't believe it.
But I calmed down and said a prayer. Some of the ladies walked back
and told the attorneys. I walked back into the big main room to find
the ladies I would trade off with. Today I called Father and gave him
an update on what had happened thus far.
One incident that I feel to relate occurred when CPS got some sidewalk
chalk for the children. The children took it outside on the pavement
and wrote all over, "We want to go home." "Take us back home to
Father," and so forth. It was amazing to see these CPS people when
this happened. They became very nervous and wanted the writing off the
pavement. One of the ladies took some of the boys, got a bucket of
water and some brooms, and had them clean it all up. I later came to
understand why they were so nervous. Up to this point the media had
only been able to interview CPS. CPS told them that the women and
children loved it there and that they didn't want to go home. Thus
their nervousness as they witnessed the children's real desires. THE
CHILDREN WANTED TO GO HOME! And, oh boy, so did the mothers. The
children cried to us about going home.
By this time the medical exams and interviews were pretty much
completed. The children were quite stressed over all of it. I wondered
what they would have us do next. Many ladies that came back from
having their children examined said that they had tried to do medical
exams on them also. These mothers were appalled. We later found out
that CPS had no right to require the mothers to do these medical
exams. I also found out that they had no right to interview the
mothers and question them down. This whole episode was on child abuse,
not on our being abused. I marveled how CPS could receive one phone
call and pass judgment on an entire group of people. Did CPS realize
the emotional abuse and trauma they were putting our children through?
Did they realize that almost every child and mother were suffering
with sickness since they had taken us? Where is the evidence of child
abuse in our lives? It is totally against our religion and our
practices, all these things we are being accused of. In addition, many
times these CPS workers would say, "You ladies are our role models of
the way children should be raised. You ladies do such a wonderful job;
we've never seen such sweet children. We've never seen mothers be so
calm and patient."
The mothers were becoming very fatigued from the challenge of keeping
their children right with them at all times in such a big area. It was
hard for the mothers to use the bathroom or brush their teeth. The
children were getting sick from the stress of all these exams and so
forth. One lady whose children were being interviewed had her children
taken away by the investigator without her knowing anything about it
until they were gone. This dear mother had no idea what was happening.
She asked around and talked to other CPS workers, but no one could
help her. When I saw her later that night, I asked about her children,
and she said they had brought them back after about eight hours.
Imagine the stress that mother endured, as though her children had
been kidnapped. And no CPS worker would help her or answer her
questions. It was a sweet comfort to see her tucking those children
into their cots that night.
Mothers threatened A law officer enters the shelter and speaks loudly
so everyone can hear, saying that there have been rumors that some
mothers are talking about walking off the premises. "If you do," he
fairly shouts, "we will arrest you and put you in prison, and you will
not come back to your children." Thursday, April 10, 2008 12:36:00 PM
A young man is removed Three armed officers and two large ladies enter
shelter #1 to escort and remove the same young man who had been locked
in the mechanical closet at the Civic Center. The officers explain,
"For the best interest of the shelter we will remove this young man
and put him with the other boys." His mother exclaims, "I thought the
purpose was getting the families back together." She is answered thus:
"Well, right now they are under state custody and we can take them
wherever we decide." Thursday, April 10, 2008 4:20:00 PM
Kindness appreciated Today a grandmother who helps with the laundry
effort and works for the Victim Relief Organization asked three of the
FLDS girls to sing to her, which they did. This dear lady has been
very helpful and kind. There have been others, some of the BCFS
organization, Salvation Army organization etc., that have been very
helpful and kind. Some CPS workers have had their hearts touched also.
The kindness of these few has been much appreciated by mothers and
children. Thursday, April 10, 2008 8:00:00 PM
Three-year-old frightened and homesick The little three-year-old who
had returned from the hospital begans to cry again tonight. After a
half hour she is still crying. Her sister kneels beside the cot trying
to comfort her, but she just cries louder, "Mother! Mother!" Realizing
that the whole room of people are affected, a caretaker picks up the
child and carries her out by the bathroom, hoping that the crying will
not be heard as well. Passing by concerned CPS workers the caretaker
simply says, "She is missing her mother." The caretaker tries to get
the sobbing girl interested in something out the window, but to no
avail. Someone comes and tells the caretaker that the crying girl is
disturbing everyone, so they walk into the bathroom. The caretaker
succeeds in quieting the little girl long enough to get her to take a
sip of water now and then, but then the crying starts again. This
continues until the little girl is exhausted and falls asleep in the
caretaker's arms. The caretaker carries the three-year-old back to her
cot and lays her down. Pulling the blanket up over her head, the
little girl cries, "They're going to get me." Several times through
the night the girl wakes up crying, "They're going to get me! They're
coming to get me!" (meaning the CPS workers.) Thursday, April 10,
2008 8:00:00 PM
April 10 notes:
CHILD SEX IN SECT'S TEMPLE IS SUSPECTED
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA041008.01A.polygamistfolo.390e0a9.html
Web Posted: 04/10/2008 12:57
AM CDT Lisa Sandberg Express-News SAN ANGELO — Authorities suspect
adult men belonging to a West Texas polygamist sect used beds inside
their sacred temple to have sex with underage girls, court records
released Wednesday indicate.
When an investigator asked one girl her age, the affidavit states, the
girl turned to her husband, Lee Roy Jessop, who said, "You are 18."
The girl then told the investigator that she was the fourth wife of
Jessop, 33, and that "he was still married to the other three wives"
in the eyes of the sect.
Trouble in the Hills Residents of a rural Texas county were suspicious
of a secretive religious sect that moved in several years ago. Now
hundreds of children are in state custody, as authorities investigate
possible abuse. Gretel C. Kovach and Andrew Murr Newsweek Web
Exclusive Apr 10, 2008 | Updated: 11:53 a.m. ET Apr 10, 2008
http://www.newsweek.com/id/131379/output/print
Eldorado residents, however, were not appeased by the group's claims
that they were being unfairly targeted. They feared that the group's
followers would register to vote and take over their town by running
for sheriff or public office. Locals repeatedly buzzed over the
property in airplanes, snapping photos of women in long pioneer
dresses digging gardens. They watched as sect members built barracks,
a concrete factory, a cheese dairy and a clinic, fashioning a
virtually self-sustaining enclave out of what had been "a rock pile,"
as one Eldorado resident put it. "They must never sleep," marveled
Gloria Swift, owner of the Hitch'n Post Coffeeshop, admiring their
hardworking ethic.
Texas Rep. Harvey Hilderbran of Kerrville, alarmed by reports from
Eldorado, the Utah attorney general and sect members who had fled the
group, helped push new legislation into law in 2005 that raised the
legal age of consent to marry in Texas from 14 to 16, that made it
illegal for stepparents to marry their children and made officiates
liable for performing illegal wedding ceremonies. "We didn't want to
facilitate the things we knew they had been involved in before,
including child abuse, sexual abuse, forced marriages, that were
clearly detrimental to the safety and welfare of children," Hilderbran
tells NEWSWEEK. "It's not in the best interest of a 14-year-old girl
to be forced to marry her uncle or stepfather or any other man in this
cult, because the men are being rewarded for their obedience with
these child brides."
--------------------------------------------------------------------
%%date: 4/11/08 April 11 Friday CPS Keeps kids until 17th
* CPS worker says her students got pregnant unmarried at 13
* Judge Barbara Walther ordered DFPS to keep all 416 children removed
from the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints compound in the San Angelo
area until a hearing on April 17
* Girls taken to stable for medical examinations
* Sarah's hoax story are released to public as the reliable truth
* Colorado City AZ call investigated, no raid
* AP: Sect Married Girls at Puberty
* CHILD SEX IN SECT'S TEMPLE IS SUSPECTED
* Seized 'Cyanide Poisoning Document'
* Full body x-rays
April 11 notes:
From computers to clothing, Texas raid swept polygamist ranchSalt Lake
Tribune (Free subscription) | 04/11/2008 Posted: 11:13 AM- SAN ANGELO,
Texas - Marriage certificates. Birth certificates. Computers. Belts. A
clip-on tie. Authorities who raided the FLDS polygamist compound near
Eldorado last week seized everything from flash drives to pregnancy
kits.
http://familyrightsassociation.com/news/archive/2008/flds/april_2008.html
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0411cps0411.html#
Colorado City CPS phone call resembles one made in Texas One led to
raid, one didn't Amanda J. Crawford The Arizona Republic Apr. 11, 2008
12:00 AM Arizona child-welfare officials are investigating a call from
a 16-year-old girl alleging sexual abuse in the polygamist stronghold
of Colorado City - a call similar to one in Texas that led officials
to raid a related polygamist compound last week and take more than 400
children into state custody.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4l-nUsSIgM&NR=1 AP video Documents:
Sect Married Girls at Puberty[not correct] Two men arrested Sunday
Children moved from fort concho state park because of overcrowding
Documents released that she was 16 and spiritually married to a 49
year old man .. he often beat her .. observed a number of other
teenages who appeared to be pregnant .. widespread pattern on the
ranch .. accept sexual activity with adult men after being spiritually
married to them
Judge Barbara Walther ordered DFPS to keep all 416 children [some of
whom are illegally detained adults] removed from the Fundamentalist
Latter Day Saints compound in the San Angelo area until a hearing on
April 17, 2008. Therefore, no children will be placed into foster
care before the hearing and all will remain in shelters. A number of
state agencies are working together to make all the children as
comfortable as possible, and to meet all their physical, medical and
psychology needs while they are in San Angelo. Including 139 women
who are companying the children, the state is providing [illegally
interning] for 555 people in shelters at this time
http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/About/News/2008/2008-04-09_chronology.asp
http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/About/News/2008/2008-04-11_news.asp
4-11-08 Friday
This was a day of peace. We were able just to take care of our
children. We began to notice that apostates from our church were there
with the CPS staff.
I just want to note here the tender care that the Salvation Army gave
us during these very stressful days. There were three men: an older
man the age of a grandfather, a very quiet Mexican man who reminded me
of Uncle Chad, and a middle-aged man who looked like the captain of a
ship. They went out of their way to cook things for our babies. They
would ask us what we would like them to serve us. The captain went out
and bought two toasters because all of our children like toast so
much. I know Heavenly Father sent them there to take care of us.
Heavenly Father surely loves us. May I be worthy.
Investigations continued Two young ladies are taken by CPS
investigators for questioning--no mothers, caretakers, or even
biological sisters are allowed to go with them. A CPS worker chats
with one of the girls who they suspect has been married underage. The
CPS worker says that she is a part-time school teacher. "One of my
students was pregnant with her first baby at age thirteen, and now she
is pregnant with her second, but she is not married!" Friday, April
11, 2008 10:00:00 AM
Girls are taken for physicals Some girls are taken to the stables to
get medical exams. While walking from the shelters to the stables the
CPS man escorting them asks what grade the girls are in. The girls
tell him. Then he asks the caretaker if she goes to college. The
caretaker answers, "No." The CPS worker asks if it is an option. The
caretaker says, "Yes." Friday, April 11, 2008 11:45:00 AM
april 11 notes:
Deseret News timeline April 11: Authorities release 88 pages detailing
items seized from the ranch.The search continues for the girl now
identified as "Sarah" alleged to have made the initial call. The Texas
Bar seeks volunteer lawyers for each of the now 416 children in
custody
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,350548,00.html Texas Polygamist
Search Warrants Refer to Seized 'Cyanide Poisoning Document' Friday,
April 11, 2008
SAN ANGELO, Texas - Copies of search warrants released Friday show
police seized dozens of journals and other materials, some documenting
marriage and birth records of a West Texas polygamist sect. The list
of documents seized also refers to a "cyanide poisoning document," but
offers no other explanation. The records document more than 80 pages
of items taken from the grounds of the Yearn for Zion Ranch in
Eldorado owned by the breakaway Mormon sect known as the
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Among the
items seized were computer equipment, family photo albums, letters,
school and medical records, including some that listed the name of the
16-year-old girl whose call triggered the weeklong raid. But her name
was identical to that of several girls in the sect.
Meanwhile, Sheriff David Doran defended law
enforcement's handling of the case, saying that for four frustrating
years, an informant fed him information about the polygamist sect that
built a compound in the West Texas desert not far from his office in
Eldorado. But those milling about the 1,700-acre compound would
scatter whenever he and a Texas Ranger visited, leaving them without
the concrete evidence they needed to open a criminal investigation,
Doran said Thursday as authorities defended their decision to leave
the sect alone after it moved in 2004. "I have no regrets because we
never received any outcry, a complaint. There was no evidence of
illegal activity nor an offense in plain view," he said. "You can
always suspect something, but until you get something that puts you on
that property, there's not a whole lot you can do."
Drawn out investigations Three young ladies were taken for questioning
today, they are gone for several hours. Friday, April 11, 2008
4:15:00 PM
A heart-broken mother A mother with three young children, ages seven
and under, is taken from the shelter around 10:00 am, to get exams,
pictures, and interviews. She does not return until 9:00 pm. She is
crying. Her two oldest children are not with her. She says they were
interviewed and on their way back to the shelter, when a CPS worker
came and had them go back for more interviewing. The CPS workers took
her two oldest children ages 7 and 4, about two miles away from Fort
Concho for more interviewing, and would not let her go with them. The
two children are returned at 10:00 pm. All the women and children are
sobered by her experience. Friday, April 11, 2008 9:00:00 PM
Friday - full body x-rays
This day it looked as though they had brought a new set of CPS workers
in. Jim Pearle sent a group of attorneys to see us. This is when our
relationship with CPS turned really cold. None of the ladies who had
previously shown ID for their disputed ages were allowed to meet with
the attorneys. CPS refused to answer any questions. Our ladies had
been allowed to see Jim and Ken on April 10. Now we were accused of
having false legal documents. CPS thought they had so much power that
their selected helpers could scan us ladies up and down and judge
whether we were over 18 or not. They would physically escort these
girls out of the room if they tried to ask questions or ask for an
explanation. They even wanted my ID to prove my age. That was a good
keep-sweet experience.
We first talked with John Kennedy. Then I talked to an attorney by the
name of Todd Stephens. I asked him about many of the laws in Texas. He
said three years ago it was legal for a 14-year-old girl to get
married with the written consent of her parents. I asked him if CPS
had the right to ignore our legal documents and scan us up and down to
decide what age we were. It felt as though CPS was the judge and there
was nothing we could do about it. He also said if a 17-year-old girl
was married, she was considered an adult and had the right to an
attorney.
We signed the papers we were given because John Kennedy had come with
the code word given to him by Jim Pearle. We had to have these
reassurances because we didn't know whom to trust.
This evening the Salvation Army workers told us that they would be
going. We surely didn't want to see them leave. It seemed that they
were about our only friends in this prison.
A miracle happened this evening. Heavenly Father blessed all of us to
gather in a circle for singing and prayer. The children became quiet
as they all gathered around. We sang songs with our faithful group of
older boys, who would sing in the morning and at night. It was a
miracle to see and to feel the order and the peace among all the
children. We sang many songs. The workers became quiet and listened.
The Salvation Army personnel had their chairs close by to hear the
singing one last time. As we sang together, it felt as though the
Heavenly Fire surrounded us; it was so beautiful. For the last song we
accompanied a recording of our Prophet dear singing,"Oh, Zion." I
believe all our hearts were penetrated by Heavenly Father's sweet
spirit, and I believe it carried right out to the people listening.
For the first time in all our days together, all 174 of us knelt down
and had group prayer. I saw the great love of our Heavenly Father in
granting us that special time. We didn't know it would be our last
time with all of us together.
Thus ended another special days in all of our lives as we all were
yearning to keep Zion growing.
Full body X-rays without explanation CPS worker comes and tells the
same mother who came into the shelters late last night, that her two
oldest children must now go to the hospital for x-rays. Her children
had not even been examined by any doctor. The mother was allowed to go
with them. These two children, and others, were subjected to full body
x-rays without any explanation.
TOM VICK, PRO BONO LAWYER FOR FLDS CHILDREN: It`s absolutely
incredible. It`s probably the most acute pro bono crisis probably in
America, to say, all right -- actually, it was Friday afternoon when I
got the call that says, We need 350 lawyers, and we need them in San
Angelo on Wednesday and Thursday. And I`m telling you, it`s just
heartwarming how the lawyers in this state have responded. They`re
here. I got a call about Tuesday at noon to say, We have 400
volunteers. Don`t send me any more names. And I have another 100
names, probably, since we did that. NANCY GRACE
http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0804/17/ng.01.html FLDS Compound
Child Custody in Texas Courts Aired April 17, 2008 - 20:00:00
-------------------------------------------
%%date: 4/12/08 Saturday
False Arizona raid: Flora says no hoax possible.
Saturday, April 12, 2008 8:30:00 AM
" FLDS attorney says call was probably a hoax
" A spokeswoman for Texas Child Protective Services told The
Associated Press Saturday that they believe the call was genuine. "We
don't have reason to believe that it was a prank or a ruse in any way
" Arizona got a similar call, but found no girl
" try to discredit the victim to free the predators,'' Flora Jessop
said
" Woman and baby are taken in the night
- women call Deseret News
"I've been walking around and comforting crying, sick children," she
said, adding that she also been helping overwhelmed mothers struggle
to care for their children in their new environments. Only two
bathroom facilities Crying sick children Stablilzing mothers to deal
with the children Children play outside when it gets warm Area with
gravel, very dusty sore throats Grassy area requested restricted us
from it Many interviews Interviewed lawyers Many personal questions
from lawyers Coming to help us some of the people interviewed byCPS we
will take you away and you will never see them again Very traumatizing
to children If they don't tell they will be robbed Eating been
somewhat the same six showers two shelters Washing facilities Many
only have clothes out of the ranch 5 or 6 days with no clothes change
clothes sent from the ranch held in restriction by CPS they will
notrelease clothes used as evidence we have no proof clothes are sent
my daughter with no change of clothing we are dealing with coming out
crying and screaming touching bodies in appropriate days they allowed
me to go to physicals mothers are not in here in touching and handling
2 little 25 young girls mother is in opposite shelter not even note
from mother walked to their interviews begged please come and sleep on
my bed officers walk in among sleeping ladies in children resisted 2
or 3 times I will walk amongthe children to keep them covered officers
in and among children unneerving peaceful rest mother is in another
shelter they will not let children be connected with mother were 1st
girls taken off the ranch mothers cannot connect very traumatic come
spend the day with me stay with me so attorney we can tell have
explained some are acting like another cps interview we don't know
which ones to trust
The women and children are being housed in a collection of nearby
shelters [in Fort Concho]. They are all being provided wholesome food
[junk food], a place to sleep [army cots with no air conditioning or
heat], personal items they need [no cribs, bags on floor, not allowed
extra clothing], and medical care [syringes being cleaned in water] by
a team of doctors and mental health professionals [who think it's
straight out of Nazi concentration camps]. A number of the children
arrived at the shelters already suffering from a variety of illnesses
including chicken pox, upper respiratory infections, ear infections,
etc. Each is receiving the appropriate medical care.
http://www.ktar.com/?sid=805089&nid=6 Jeffs' Attorney: Polygamist
Abuse Tip May Have Been Hoax April 12th, 2008 @ 10:09am by Associated
Press
April 12 notes:
IF THIS THING TURNS OUT TO BE A HOAX
blog by Brian McCorkle posted on 12 April, 2008 at 13:43 pm
http://www.convolutedbrian.com/the-great-texas-flds-raid-is-she-real.html
a later affidavit from Texas Ranger Leslie Brooks Long is very bizarre
with some extremely long stretches to undermine the community at the
ranch. Brooks believes than a long hair found in a bed in the FLDS
Temple proves that this was a sex bed for raping young girls.
Another call from an alleged sixteen-year-old has been reported in
Arizona. The original caller was not identified by name, but Texas is
now referring to her as Sarah. Investigators are claiming they cannot
identify who is who among the children and now will require DNA
samples to proceed. Things get pretty murky. If this thing turns out
to be a hoax, you can bet that these Texas law enforcement and
protection agencies will fabricate as much as possible to make
themselves look competent.
Deseret News Timeline: Barlow meets with Texas Rangers in St. George,
leaves a free man. Rangers refuse to say if he's still a suspect.
Deseret News reporters and photographers become first media ever
allowed inside ranch. Women from shelters speak with Deseret News on
cell phones complaining of crowded conditions and uncertainty.
His suspicions increased upon learning that Child Protective Services
in Arizona recently got a similar report about a teenager claiming to
be in Colorado City, Ariz. Arizona investigators went to the
community and conducted interviews but were unable to locate the girl
or verify the account. They did not remove any children from homes.
Jeffs' Attorney: Polygamist Abuse Tip May Have Been Hoax
April 12th, 2008 @ 10:09am
by Associated Press
PHOENIX - An attorney for polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs says
authorities may have been duped into raiding a Texas ranch occupied by
church members by a fake phone tip. "I smelled a rat from the
beginning," attorney Michael Piccarreta told The Arizona Republic,
referring to the call from a 16-year-old victim at the Fundamentalist
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints compound in Eldorado that
prompted the raid. "I think the Texas authorities need to make a
careful analysis of whether they have been part of a ruse." A
spokeswoman for Texas Child Protective Services told The Associated
Press Saturday that they believe the call was genuine. "Obviously we
do," spokeswoman Marissa Gonzales said. "We don't have reason to
believe that it was a prank or a ruse in any way." Piccarreta on
Friday questioned whether the call may have been a ploy by an FLDS
enemy. He said his suspicions increased upon learning that Child
Protective Services in Arizona recently got a similar report about a
teenager claiming to be in Colorado City, Ariz. Arizona investigators
went to the community and conducted interviews but were unable to
locate the girl or verify the account. They did not remove any
children from homes. Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said
Friday the state's job is to pursue any child-abuse allegation. ``It
would be unfortunate if somebody manufactured this story,'' Goddard
said of the Arizona tip. ``We're not going to start there and say this
is another activist call. We are going to investigate, the way we did
on this one.'' Flora Jessop, who left the FLDS church years ago and
leads the nonprofit Child Protection Project, told The Republic Friday
that she submitted information to Arizona authorities after receiving
calls from a pregnant teenager in Colorado City. ``I have been
speaking to a little girl who has my guts in knots,'' Jessop said.
``It is a very credible, very believable, very abused little girl.''
She said she isn't surprised by Piccarreta's comments. ``That's what
good attorneys do. They try to discredit the victim to free the
predators,'' Jessop said. The FLDS split from the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints more than a century ago when the
mainstream Mormon Church renounced polygamy. The Mormon Church
excommunicates members found to be practicing plural marriage.
Mother and baby taken in the night CPS workers enter shelter #1 with
flashlights. They walk through the rows of cots, waking several
sleeping children and adults. The workers explain that they are
looking for a certain lady. This lady, age 19, has been accused of
lying about her age. She has a little baby. They find her and wake her
up, saying, "You need to come with us for some questioning." By this
time an older mother wakes up and comes over where they are. This
experienced mother asks if the questioning can wait until morning. The
CPS workers firmly answer, "No! We need to do it right now." The older
mother offers to watch the baby while the baby's mother is gone. The
CPS workers refuse to let her. CPS workers pressure the young lady,
"Come on. Get your shoes on quick. We need to go. You will be back in
just a little while." The mother of the baby whispers to the other,
"They won't let me come back if they take me." Just then another
experienced mother walks up and tries to convince the CPS workers that
it is too late, and wonders if they can do it in the morning. The
workers will not listen, and they usher the young mother with her baby
out the door. About a half hour later the CPS workers come back and
haul the baby crib the baby had been sleeping in, out. The young
mother never comes back to this shelter. First thing in the morning a
CPS worker comes and gathers some of the baby's clothes. Late in the
afternoon some mothers and children are outside waving to loved ones
in other shelters and they see the young mother with her baby far
across the parade grounds, just her and her baby. She is standing by a
little cabin and waving. Her dress and jacket are recognized.
Saturday, April 12, 2008 11:30:00 PM
Saturday April 12 notes:
THEY HAVE NOT BEEN SAFE BEFORE, THEY WILL BE SAFE WITH US
NO ONE WHO CLAIMS TO BE A PARENT MAY VISIT UNTIL THURSDAY
FLDS raid generates sympathy
From toys to legal aid, help is offered by fundamentalist Mormons, other groups
By Christopher Smart, Julia Lyon and Brooke Adams
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 04/12/2008 02:27:56 AM MDT
....Marleigh Meisner of the Texas Department of Family and Protective
Services told The Salt Lake Tribune that no one wants to talk. _Very
wise_ "They are very aware the media is here," she said. "They have
asked us to shield them from the media, the photographs and video."
_Did they?_ ....But any who claim to be parents will have to wait until
Thursday's hearing to argue for the return of their children. No one
is being allowed to visit the children, she said. _Except CPS monsters
and colluding psychaitrists._ Marleigh said officials are continuing
to arrange foster homes in case they are needed in the future and hope
to keep sibling groups together. For now, the focus is gaining trust
of the children, she said. _These kids may be harder than usual to
brainwash and deceive. Unless you dope them out of their skulls like
usual._ "Even though they have not been safe before, they will be safe
with us,"** said Meisner, whose agency is expected to argue next week
the children would be at risk if returned home. _They never argue
anything else_
http://www.sltrib.com/Polygamy/ci_8900472
Meanwhile, there is no alleged "16 year old informant" found. Something really stinks here
---------------------------------------------------------------------
%%date: 4/13/08 Sunday Cellphone Pictures, Cellphones ordered removed
Sunday April 13
* Goodbye to Salvation Army
* Boys taken away to separate shelter Ten boys, ages 12 and up, are taken from the Pavilion to Shelter #7 at Fort Concho. These grown boys are sobbing about being taken away.
* I've been in these same clothes for ten days
* Deseret News publishes cell phone pictures of crowded living conditions, six days
* "Many people came in here healthy and strong," the woman said from a cell phone inside the temporary shelter at the "Cattle Arena" annex of the San Angelo coliseum. "I've been walking around and comforting crying, sick children,"
* That evening, judge in retaliation orders confiscation of all cell phones and search.
Judge Barbara Walther ordered DFPS to confiscate the cell phones of
the 139 women to prevent witnesses tampering and interference with the
legal process.
We arose to a beautiful Sabbath day. This marked a week since I had
left home. It felt as though months of experience had happened in that
past week. We said goodbye to the Salvation Army. I walked over to the
man who reminded me of Uncle Chad and expressed my gratitude for his
kindness to us. He talked very quietly, just like Uncle Chad, and in
broken English said, "I'll always remember you people. You will always
be in our prayers." Then he pointed to a lady across the way and said,
"See that lady? She'll take care of you like I took care of you. If
you need anything, ask her. She'll help you." So I realized that two
groups of people from the Salvation Army had come, but they all were
gone by the end of the day. I said goodbye to the captain and
expressed my gratitude. He said, "This has totally been my privilege
to be here and help you people."
I got the boys over to a table, and we read stories from Grandmother
Margaret Jessop. Mary asked if some of her children could be there
with me. She said the CPS supervisor was calling a meeting with the
boys 12 and older and their mothers. Susan asked if I would watch her
little ones while she went back with Edward. We got busy drawing and
coloring and had snack. We kept our prayers going, not knowing what
was next.
After about 15 minutes, the older boys and mothers quietly came
walking out of the side room. They all went right to their cots. It
looked as though they were packing up their bags. They got their bags
packed and quietly walked over to a back entrance of the building with
their mothers. Some of the children ran after them, wondering where
they were going. They told them, "They are taking us somewhere else."
So the children quickly shook their hands, and the older boys left the
building. Their mothers turned around and started walking back towards
the cots with tears flowing down their faces. When would they see
these boys again? But CPS would give no answer, just like when we were
first taken.
It was amazing to watch one of our dear mothers whose age was 35. CPS
had refused to let her see an attorney because they had judged her to
be under 18. Then at this point, they took her 11-year-old son away
from her and sent him with the group of boys. It seemed that whenever
any treacherous act was performed, they would then and there decide
what age we were to justify their deeds. At one point, the CPS workers
told this dear mother, "You should feel complimented by how young you
look." The mother replied, "That does no good for me in this
situation."
One mother related what took place when they took the boys back to the
side room:
"The CPS supervisor gathered the mothers of the boys 12 years and
older and told them she needed them and their boys to come and have a
meeting with her and some people in the back room. We gathered
together and went back with her. She introduced us to a new group of
CPS workers and introduced the boys to these people, naming each boy
and giving his age. She introduced the boys to a male CPS worker, who
told them that CPS had decided that they would have to go to a shelter
where all the other boys their age were.
"The mothers started questioning these people, wondering why they
would take these boys and what they were going to do with them. So I
turned to the supervisor and said, 'Are you meaning to tell me that
you are lying to me? You told me you were trying to get kids with
their mothers and now you are taking them from us?' She stumbled
around and didn't know what to say. Then the male worker said it had
already been decided by CPS and there was no choice."
The day was quiet and sober. Some of the children went to the
policeman that had been there every day for security purposes and
asked him, "Why did they take the older boys?" I was standing there
listening as he replied, "Oh, there's funny little laws. They told me
this wouldn't happen, but around here they change the laws about every
five minutes." I asked him, "Do they plan to do this with all our
children?" He said, "I don't know." His heart seemed troubled, and he
walked away.
CASA workers came in. They were very kind. They let the mothers sit by
the children while they talked to them. My boys talked to a
29-year-old man named William. He asked them what they liked to do.
Parley said, "Rake leaves." Then he asked each boy what he most
wanted, and they all said, "I want to go home." He told the boys to
look at his badge and showed them a little man inside a heart at the
bottom. He told the boys when they saw a badge with that symbol they
would know it was a CASA worker, and they could tell them if they
needed anything. Parley seemed to be comforted by this. He looked at
that badge carefully in case he might need help from a CASA worker.
This evening the police came in with a court order to take all our
phones away again because we were all potential witnesses and the
court did not want us being tampered with. So we all had the metal
detector run over us, even the tiny babies. Then they put all of us in
the side room while they searched the building for cell phones that we
didn't voluntarily bring forward. The CASA workers were still in this
side room. They waited it out with us. We sang some songs for them,
and their hearts seemed very touched. They let us back in, and the
police commented, "What some sweet ladies; we didn't find any cell
phones."
Later this evening I got Terrill and Jacob to sleep. Parley wanted a
shower, so I went out with him because he wanted me to keep him
company. That was sweet to me. The showers were busy, so we walked
over by the fence, where a CPS lady was standing. She poured out her
heart to us. She was called in by CPS to come down to San Angelo and
help with the situation. She said that CPS wouldn't tell these workers
anything. She said, "I go home every night and cry for you people."
She told us that this was her last night there.
After speaking with her for a few minutes, we walked over to the
shower trailer. This shower trailer had three showers in it with
shower curtains to divide each stall. As we came out of the shower
trailer, a couple of CPS workers were taking our wash out of the
washers. They mixed up all our batches in the dryers. One black lady
turned to me and said I couldn't do any more wash because there would
be a curfew that night. She was very anxious for Parley and me to get
into the building. She just herded us right along till we were inside
after which they locked the doors. I thought it quite odd because they
had never done this on the other nights.
The mothers usually showered after the children were asleep, but we
couldn't do that tonight. Almost everyone had only one change of
clothes, and that had to be washed up and ready for our next shower
opportunity. Some were not as fortunate and only came with the clothes
on their backs. Clothes were shared. Later when we got home, one lady
told me, "I've been in these same clothes for ten days."
A sick baby treated while at Pavilion. A baby girl with a fever is
given a syringe filled with medicine. Afterwards the baby screams for
several hours. The mother says, "Something was in that syringe." She
walks to the medical unit (an RV at the back of the building},
wondering what they had given her baby. She is told they had been
rinsing out the syringes with cold water. Sunday, April 13, 2008
8:00:00 AM
Boys taken from Pavilion to shelter #7 Ten boys, ages 12 and up, are
taken from the Pavilion to Shelter #7 at Fort Concho. These grown boys
are sobbing about being taken away. Sunday, April 13, 2008 12:00:00
PM
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695270102,00.html
People: Meanwhile, one mother named Rebecca says she saw a young girl
walk up to a sign in a shelter reading "Guests." She crossed it out
and wrote "Prisoners." Another caregiver, Kate, recalls one boy,
distraught and missing his mother, waking up one night at a shelter
crying. "He grabbed on to me," says Kate, "and I could feel his heart
beating so hard."
Fort Concho: Tight quarters, fear taking toll on moms, children;
exclusive phone interview Copyright 2008 Deseret Morning News By Brian
West and Nancy Perkins Deseret News Published: Sunday, April 13, 2008
1:02 a.m. MDT SAN ANGELO, Texas - Kathleen has been on "night watch"
in a makeshift shelter here with 170 children and women for the past
six nights. "Many people came in here healthy and strong," the woman
said from a cell phone inside the temporary shelter at the "Cattle
Arena" annex of the San Angelo coliseum. "I've been walking around
and comforting crying, sick children," she said, adding that she also
been helping overwhelmed mothers struggle to care for their children
in their new environments.
Judge orders confiscation of cell phones
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695270279,00.html Deseret
Morning News (owned by LDS church) By Nancy Perkins April 14, 2008 SAN
ANGELO, Texas - A Texas judge on Sunday ordered law enforcement
officials to immediately confiscate all cell phones in the possession
of FLDS women and children now housed in temporary quarters here. "I
just called to say hi. They are about to collect the phones, I think,"
one soft-spoken FLDS woman said during a telephone call to another
member of the Fundamentalist LDS Church who was outside the shelter.
"I don't like what they're doing." FLDS faithful outside the shelter
are convinced Sunday's court order is a direct result of the women
speaking to the newspaper.
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AZd_BaQPgLcSZGZ0aHg3cTRfOTE5Y2Jwbjc2ZDI&hl=en
Fort Concho: Tight quarters, fear taking toll on moms, children; exclusive phone interview
Copyright 2008 Deseret Morning News
By Brian West and Nancy Perkins
Deseret News
Published: April 13, 2008 Exclusive telephone interview from inside
Fort Concho (5 minutes) SAN ANGELO, Texas — Kathleen has been on
"night watch" in a makeshift shelter here with 170 children and women
for the past six nights.
"Many people came in here healthy and strong," the woman said from a
cell phone inside the temporary shelter at the "Cattle Arena" annex of
the San Angelo coliseum.
"I've been walking around and comforting crying, sick children," she
said, adding that she also been helping overwhelmed mothers struggle
to care for their children in their new environments.
April 13 notes:
Texas Welfare Workers Criticized For Treatment of FLDS
ChildrenReligion Clause (Free subscription) | 05/14/2008 Yesterday's
Salt Lake Tribune says that mental health professionals who were
employed to care for the FLDS women and children after the April raid
on their Eldorado, Texas ranch are critical of Texas Child Protective
Services. Statements given by staff members to the board of Hill
Country Community Mental Health and Mental Retardation Center say that
the treatment of the women and children, and the...
Are Carolyn or Flora the missing 16 year old bride?
http://familyrightsassociation.com/news/archive/2008/flds/what_i_think.htm
What I think Leonard Henderson, Co-Founder, American Family Rights
Association April 13, 2008 I have been following the Fundamental LDS
case in Texas practically since the hour it started. In my continued
effort to compile the stories written about the case so people can
comprehend what's happening as the story unfolds, I have noticed a
continuing theme- Where is the 16 year-old child bride? (turned out
to be a black woman)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
%%date: 4/14/08 Monday
Mothers of children over 4 tricked into separation, move to coliseum
* Mothers are separated from children on way to pavillion
* Mothers complain they were tricked - told that we would be moving to
a bigger and better place where we could all stay together.
* The first deception and separation - bus ride to Pavillion
* Mothers separated from older children, sent home to the ranch
* With permission from Judge Barbara Walther, DFPS moved about two
dozen teenage boys to a facility outside the area.
* 3:30PM Mothers go to shelter after being told they may never see children
again, but go home when they realize it is another lie.
* 4:30PM Returning mothers talk to press. Marie Musser sobs hanging on to a pole
April 14 notes:
Mothers of sect children forced to leave By JENNIFER DOBNER and
MICHAEL GRACZYK, Associated Press Writers 1 hour, 4 minutes ago (April
14, 2008)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080415/ap_on_re_us/polygamist_retreat Of
the 139 women who voluntarily left the compound with their children
since an April 3 raid, only those with children 4 or younger were
allowed to continue staying with them, said Marissa Gonzales,
spokewoman for the state Children's Protective Services agency. She
did not know how many women stayed.
Would a courtroom big enough to hold everyone be available at the Tom
Green County Courthouse, or would some kind of video link be employed?
Texas bar officials said more than 350 lawyers from across the state
have volunteered to represent the children free of charge. Moreover,
the 139 mothers who voluntarily left the sect to be with their
children will need lawyers, too, to help them fight for custody. The
sheer numbers left the judge perplexed as she considered suggestions
from the lawyers for how to handle Thursday's hearing. "It would seem
inefficient to have a witness testify 416 times," the judge offered.
"If I gave everybody five minutes, that would be 70 hours." Oh well,
let's just toss the Sixth and Seventh Amendments out the window while
we are at it.
Betty Balli Torres, executive director of the Texas Access to Justice
Foundation.. Attorneys began meeting with the women over the weekend.
.. Otherwise, they could lose their children — "what we call kind of
the death penalty of family law cases," she said.
http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/About/News/2008/2008-04-09_chronology.asp
The children have been moved to a single large shelter at the San
Angelo Coliseum, which provides more room and facilities for guests.
With permission from Judge Barbara Walther, DFPS moved about two dozen
teenage boys to a facility outside the area.
Adult women with very young children were provided the opportunity to
remain at the shelter. The other women were given the choice to return
to the Eldorado compound or to a safe place. This decision to separate
the children was not made by CPS alone. DFPS sought counsel from the
attorneys of the children, mental health professionals and others. The
judge concurred that a partial separation is in the best interest of
the children at this time.
Today, children were moved to a single large shelter at the San Angelo
Coliseum.
Planning for this move has been in the works since last week, but
couldn't occur sooner because the coliseum was booked for another
engagement and had to be cleaned and made ready.
Since the judge ordered DFPS to keep the children in the area, all the
agencies involved are working hard to provide as comfortable an
environment as possible for these children and the coliseum is the
best option. The coliseum provides more room and facilities for
guests. There is also a play area where children can have fun. With
the judge's permission DFPS moved about two dozen teenage boys to a
facility outside the area. All the rest of the children are at the
coliseum.
Adult women with very young children were provided the opportunity to
remain at the shelter at this time. The other women were given the
choice to return to the Eldorado compound or to a safe place. [they
were told they would not see their children again if they returned to
the ranch, and returned to a friend's house]
While DFPS understands mothers want to be with their children, normal
protocol is to separate children from their parents during
investigations into abuse and neglect.
This decision was not made by CPS alone. DFPS sought counsel from the
attorneys of the children, mental health professionals and others. The
judge concurred that a partial separation is in the **best interest of
the children** at this time.
Some of the children are sick because they arrived at the shelter
already sick[because of crowded conditions and food] . Some came into
state care already suffering with chicken pox, and upper respiratory
infections, ear infections, etc.[and some got it from crowded
conditions] The state is providing the medical attention the children
need [didn't need before they were put into an internment camp]
http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/About/News/2008/2008-04-14_news_pm.asp
CHILDREN ARE MORE TRUTHFUL, FEEL SAFER IF SEPARATED FROM PARENTS
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/15/sect.mothers/#cnnSTCText Tue April
15, 2008 State now a danger to children, sect's mothers say
The decision to separate children age 5 and older from their mothers
was made carefully and with input from attorneys and therapists, CPS
spokesman Marleigh Meisner said Tuesday. It was decided that the move
was in the "children's best interest," she said, and she later added
that children who are victims of abuse or neglect typically feel
"safer" and are ___more truthful___ if their parents are not around
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDDXY5KHMqA&feature=related FLDS Speak
salt lake tribune women return from pavilion separation
sobbing woman (marie musser) leaning on post "they have not known abuse until this experience"
http://familyrightsassociation.com/news/archive/2008/flds/april_2008.html
http://voxday.blogspot.com/2008/04/no-excuse.html Monday, April 14,
2008 No excuse Vox Popoli The allegations of abuse of a girl is no
excuse for kidnapping hundreds of children and breaking up their
families:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
%%date: 4/15/08 Tuesday, April 15 SEPARATION WAS NECCESARY TO END CODE OF SILENCE
* Photo of M113 tank released to AP
* There are allegations that she may not exist. That this whole thing was a hoax.
* SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I am not as worried as everyone
else is about whether or not they're going to find this girl
* It was absolutely necessary to separate 57 women from the older
children. Investigators will never learn the full truth as long as
adults who encourage a code of silence are standing over these
children's shoulders
* CPS While we know this was a difficult move for these children,
their spirits are high and
* there are many smiles. (WHAT??)
April 15 notes:
State now a danger to children, sect's mothers say CNN.com
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/15/sect.mothers/index.html
TANK WAS NOT DESIGNED TO FORCE ENTRY ONTO RANCH (but that was what it was used for)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24141460/
Images show police armed for polygamist raid
Officials say sect children more willing to tell truth without moms around
updated 6:14 p.m. PT, Tues., April. 15, 2008 ELDORADO, Texas - Police
wore body armor, sported automatic weapons and were backed by an
armored personnel carrier for a raid on a West Texas polygamist
retreat, photos and video released Tuesday show.
Tela Mange, a state Department of Public Safety spokeswoman, said
officers are trained to protect themselves. "Whenever we serve a
search warrant, no matter where or when, we are always as prepared as
possible so we can ensure the operational safety of the officers
serving the warrant, as well as the safety of those who are on the
property in question," Mange said. The armored car was precautionary
and designed to remove someone from the property, not to force entry
onto the ranch, she said
Revisiting Waco Eldorado is about 200 miles southeast of Waco, where
federal authorities tried to arrest Branch Davidian leader David
Koresh for stockpiling guns and explosives in 1993. Four federal
agents and six members of Koresh's sect died in the shootout that
ensued. After a 51-day standoff, Koresh and nearly 80 followers died
in an inferno that the government says was set by the Davidians but
that survivors say started when authorities fired tear gas rounds into
their compound.
The mothers have complained the state deceived them, revealing the
plan only after they and their children boarded buses from historic
Fort Concho, where they had been staying, to the larger San Angelo
Coliseum. State officials defended that decision Tuesday.
No parents coaching them Texas Children's Protective Services
spokeswoman Marleigh Meisner said officials decided that children are
more truthful in interviews about possible abuse if their parents are
not around.
http://archives.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0804/15/ltm.01.html
CNN American Morning
AMERICAN MORNING
FLDS Mothers Claimed They Were Tricked
Aired April 15, 2008 - 06:00 ET
CNN's coverage includes quotes from some of the FLDS women. Larry
King last night had fascinating video of the FLDS ranch which they
toured along with interviews of several FLDS mothers: The YFZ ranch is
owned by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints (FDLS), a Mormon offshoot that practices polygamy. Followers
say the accusations of sexual abuse are false. "This, what is
happening to them, is the worst abuse that they have ever had," said
Esther, one of three FDLS mothers interviewed by CNN's Larry King on
Wednesday night. "I just don't understand why you would want to just
come right into our community and do this." The often-tearful mothers
pleaded to be granted access to their children. "Our children need
us," said one of the women, only identified as Sally, "and they have
been torn from us illegally with officers with guns.
CPS News Brief
http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/about/news/2008/2008-04-15_news.asp
Every step taken by CPS and the court has been done with the goal of
doing what is best for the children, getting to the truth, and
stopping abuse.
Every time the state is forced to remove children from an abusive
situation people will become upset, but the rights of children come
first. The 51 women who returned to the compound have been unable to
protect these children from abuse in the past.
Since the investigation began at the FLDS compound, CPS has been
careful to minimize the trauma for these children. But it was
absolutely necessary to separate 57 women from the older children.
Investigators will never learn the full truth as long as adults who
encourage a code of silence are standing over these children's
shoulders.
During the separation it was firmly but gently explained that women
without children or with older children must leave. They were informed
of the legal situation and provided packets of information on the
process and what would happen while the children are in state care.
They were asked to remain calm for the sake of the children, but to
gather up their belongings and leave the children's clothes and
medicines behind.
51 of the women were returned to the compound and six did not wish to
return and were taken to another location at their request.
It is recognized that some of the FLDS children in state care may not
have parents at the FLDS compound. They may have already been
separated from their families and it will take time to sort out who is
really related to whom and whether they really have relatives at the
compound.
Current Status of the children:
Children in the Coliseum and pavilion are adapting well to
their new surroundings. They are playing kickball outside and have a
larger play area inside where they can color, hula hoop and play games
with their siblings and friends.
While we know this was a difficult move for these children,
their spirits are high and there are many smiles (????).
About 400 women and children under the age of 5 are housed in
the (domed) San Angelo Colliseum.
About 100 older children are in the adjacent Wells Fargo
Pavilion (flat roof), where they are being cared for by CPS staff and
licensed children care providers.
About two dozen teenage boys are being housed in a licensed
foster care facility outside the immediate area.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
%%date: 4/16/08 wednesday April 16
- custody hearing to be held thursday (tomorrow) to decide fate
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/17/polygamy.custody/index.html#cnnSTCVideo
- "Some of our children we have not been able to have contact with for 10 days to almost two weeks."
- Larry King Ranch tour
- Rozita Swinton's Arrest Warrant signed
- Mothers were separated from children FOR THEIR OWN SAFETY(?)
RANGER KEMP SENT TO COLORADO TO INVESTIGATE SWINTON
- "The information came out after the raid, Kemp said, and he learned
about it when he was sent to Colorado on April 16, 2008, to consult
with authorities there." src: Judge imposes time limit as FLDS bid to
get evidence hearing moves into fourth day By Michael Kelly Originally
published 12:16 p.m., May 16, 2009
http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2009/may/16/judge-imposes-time-limit-as-flds-bid-to-get-into/
April 16 notes:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,351450,00.html
Polygamist Sect Mothers Deny Allegations of Abuse
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
"The sexual abuse and all of these reports that are coming through are
not accurate," said Janet, who said she has five of her 12 children in
state custody. "It seems as though, often times people judge from
their own hearts — other people — and this is what we are victims of."
Janet told FOX News that they strive to live "pure, virtuous lives" at
the ranch, though she admitted her husband has more wives than just
her.
"We are a very private people, and we like to give that privilege to
anyone else to be what they are," said mother Shannon.
Another woman claimed officials "deceived" and "lied to us
continually" when they raided the ranch.
"I want the world to know that our children have been torn from us and
that they need us," said Sally, a mother of nine.
"They told us that they were going to put us on a bus and take us to
where it was a bigger, better place to be — where our family could be
together," she added.
another mother disagreed. "I have an 18-year-old daughter that has
been taken and isolated, and they're trying to interrogate her and
trying to get her to say that she is the victim," Amy told FOX News.
"And she's been isolated and interrogated through the whole night and
then several days and the abuse is absolutely terrible. "How does a
young girl stand up under such pressure and still remain mentally
stable?" Amy continued. "She needs her mother. She needs us."
Marleigh Meisner said officials decided that children are more
truthful in interviews about possible abuse if their parents are not
around. "I can tell you we believe the children who are victims of
abuse or neglect, and particularly victims at the hands of their own
parents, certainly are going to feel safer to tell their story when
they don't have a parent there that's coaching them with how to
respond," Meisner said.
Legislator thinks it's an over-reach
/topic/1041859/1/#new
Notes:
Fr)om: Steve McCraw
(Se)nt: Wed Apr 16 15:53:21 2008
(Su)bject: Senator Carona A Texas state legislator
(Hi)s office called and he wanted a brief which I just provided him. His concern was an over
(re)ach by the state in taking all 413 children and I believe his concerns have been fully
(ad)dressed.
Videos links at
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,353418,00.html
- we're a very private people
- It's a wonderful life
http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2008/04/16/on-polygamy-former-flds-wife-speaks-out/
Kathy Jo Nicholson
Former FLDS member
I was among the first to say that the children should not be separated
from their mothers. But their husbands and leaders are guilty of the
very things they accuse the government of Texas of doing. They have
separated children from their real mothers in Colorado City and placed
them in the Texas compound. They have lived in dormitories and many of
these children may not know where their real mothers are. I am aware
of one situation where a man took only his favored wives with him to
Eldorado, but he took all of the children. He left the remaining wives
behind without access to their kids.
Enough is enough. Speak out. Get help.
Stop the abuse
CHILDREN SEPARATED FROM MOTHERS FOR THE _SAFETY OF THE CHILREN_
FLDS children moved to sports arena
Updated 4/16/2008 2:31 PM | Comments650 | Recommend66 E-mail | Save | Print | Reprints & Permissions |
By William M. Welch, USA TODAY Hundreds of children in state care
following removal from a West Texas polygamist compound were moved
Monday to a sports arena, and some were separated from their mothers
for their own safety, a state official said.
Until Monday, 139 mothers had been permitted to voluntarily remain
with their children in state protective custody at Fort Concho in San
Angelo, Texas, about 45 miles from the ranch. But to relieve
crowding, approximately 170 of the children and accompanying mothers
were moved to another building, said Marleigh Meisner, spokeswoman for
the state's Child Protective Services. When the San Angelo Coliseum
became available Monday, children still at the fort were moved to the
larger arena, she said.
Mothers of all but those 4 and younger were told they would no longer
be allowed to stay with their children, she said. Meisner said some
chose to return to their ranch and others accepted the state's offer
of "a safe place" elsewhere.
Once we moved to the coliseum this afternoon, we notified the mothers
who had children 5 years and older that they no longer would be able
to stay with their children," she said. She said the moves were made
for "the safety of the children" and in consultation with the court,
mental health professionals and lawyers for some of the children.
On April 16, several of the mothers appeared on Larry King Live to ask
for their ..... (Video clip); ^ "Tour of polygamist compound", CNN (16
April 2008). ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YFZ_Ranch
http://www.truveo.com/Larry-King-Interviews-FLDS-mothers-in-recent-Texas/id/301426209
esther, marilyn, sally
Let me show -- last night, we interviewed three FLDS mothers. Now,
maybe some folks missed it -- Ester, Marilyn and Sally. We asked them
about abuse allegations.
- "They have an unsubstantiated allegation of abuse," (Sarah) Rod
Parker said in an interview on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 Wednesday
night. " http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/17/polygamy.custody/index.html
http://www.deseretmorningnews.com/article/1,5143,695270810,00.html
Heavily armed operation pleased officials, not FLDS
By Nancy Perkins and Amy Joi O'Donoghue
Deseret News
Published: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 12:12 a.m. MDT
SAN ANGELO, Texas — Texas authorities entered the YFZ Ranch April 3 armed with a search warrant, automatic weapons, SWAT teams, helicopters, dozens of law enforcement vehicles — including an armored personnel carrier — and were met with no resistance from the more than 600 residents of the polygamous community.
"They first got under the gate under false pretenses," said Isaac, a 33-year-old FLDS man who did not want to be identified because he has several children who are now under state custody. "They had police cars box in the whole
--------------------------------------------------------------------
%%date: 4/17/08 thursday COURT CIRCUS. SARAH CALL IS HOAX
- Rosita Swinton hoax call to Jessop linked to raid
- Nancy Grace broadcast: they're kidnappers, pedophiles and rapists
- Walther Orders DNA testing
- Larry King "they weren't raped, this is an injustice"
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2008/04/17/lkl.polygamy.long.cnn
April 17, 2008 Sect's women discuss raid Larry King speaks with
mothers of the children seized in the Texas polygamy raid and
polygamist Winston Blackmore.
http://www.westwoodone.com/pg/jsp/larryking/audioarchive.jsp
April 17, 2008
The fate of hundreds of children is being decided in a Texas courtroom today! They were taken by the state of Texas in raids on the polygamist compound in Eldorado. Reaction from those who escaped polygamy!
http://www.westwoodone.com/pg/jsp/larryking/audioarchive.jsp
April 16, 2008
EXCLUSIVE: Polygamist leader speaks! Canada's Winston Blackmore has a message for fathers whose children were removed from the compound in Texas: Claim your children! It's the day before a hearing on the matter, what will the dads do
Rozita Swinton arrested, no charges in FLDS case filed
9:00 AM Court hearing begins Mass meeting of lawyers, ad litems,
mothers, and some fathers meet at the Tom Greene County Courthouse.
Voss, Perry Testify
9:00 PM Tour of ranch on Larry King CNN
KING: THEY WEREN'T RAPED, THEY WEREN'T MARRIED WHEN THEY WERE 16
THIS IS AN INJUSTICE
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0804/17/lkl.01.html
Polygamy: Shocking Testimony Aired April 17, 2008 - 21:00 ET
But, Mike, what do you make of the number of mothers we had on last
night and many others who are saying they haven't done anything wrong?
Their kids have been taken away. That's wrong. They weren't raped.
They weren't married when they were 16. This is an injustice.
Marie: 4-17-08 Thursday
Court hearings began today with CPS presenting their case. Angie Voss
and a sheriff who had the Bishop's records were the witnesses. This
session lasted until 9:30 PM. Then Judge Barbara Walther declared a
recess. Some of the attorneys ad litem tried to persuade the judge to
allow some mothers to go to the Coliseum who had been away when the
raid happened. The judge said they could meet with her after court was
excused. After court was excused, the judge walked into her room and
never came back out. I was interested to see what would happen, so I
made my way to the front and was standing near the CPS people when an
ad litem came up and expressed his frustration at the CPS because they
would not work with them at all.
A CPS man said, "Well, your clients have not given us any
cooperation." I raised my hand, looked at him with tears in my eyes,
and said, "I did everything CPS asked me to do! I cooperated myself
right out of that Pavilion, leaving my children behind." He looked at
me as though he was amazed that I would dare speak up, and then he
just stood there and didn't know what to say. I would ask in all
honesty, for CPS to show me where I did not cooperate. All the
feedback from the CPS people that asked me to respond to their wishes
was, "Thank you for cooperating."
I watched a dear mother who had been away from the ranch when the raid
happened walk up to every one of those CPS people and forgive them.
She had a little girl at the Coliseum who had been crying for days for
her mother. I saw the Prophet's love in action as she went to each one
and forgave them
People Magazine
Life in the Cult People Eldorado Kids flds
" By Darla Atlas/Eldorado, Johnny Dodd/Eldorado, Anne Lang/Eldorado, Vickie Bane/Denver, Daniel S. Levy/New York City
April 28, 2008 www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20196152,00.html
* one mother named Rebecca says she saw a young girl walk up to a sign
in a shelter reading "Guests." She crossed it out and wrote
"Prisoners."
* caregiver, Kate, recalls one boy, distraught and missing his mother,
waking up one night at a shelter crying. "He grabbed on to me," says
Kate, "and I could feel his heart beating so hard."
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_8965600 Springs call may be linked
to Texas raid By Joey Bunch The Denver Post Article Launched:
04/17/2008 09:12:36 PM MDT Prank calls from a 33-year-old Colorado
Springs woman may be linked to the raid at a West Texas polygamist
compound, Colorado Springs Police say. Texas officials say they
believe the child does exist, but they have not been able to find her.
NANCY GRACE
http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0804/17/ng.01.html
FLDS Compound Child Custody in Texas Courts
Aired April 17, 2008 - 20:00:00 ET
Voss testimony. Overall very anti-flds show throughout the raid and removals.
KIDNAPPERS, RAPISTS AND CHILD MOLESTERS
ALLISON ARNGRIM, SPOKESPERSON, NATL. ASSOC. TO PROTECT CHILDREN:
particularly crazy because they keep saying our children, our
children. But in 2003 they took a bunch of children from another
compound in Utah and they kicked parents out of this compound and kept
their children. So some of those 416 children they say are ours were
kidnapped from other families. They`re kidnappers as well as rapists
and child molesters.
POLYGAMISTS AND PEDOPHILES TOO
JOHN LUCICH, INVESTIGATOR, AUTHOR OF "CYBER LIES": Well, you know,
you`ve got to remember these guys are not just polygamists, they`re
pedophiles, too, if what they`re saying is true.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
%%date: 4/18/08 Friday April 18, 2008
CPS "GRATIFIED" JUDGE ORDER TO KEEP CHILDREN "SAFE"
- After only one day testimony by three witnesses, with Perry recommending
that foster care placement would be HARMFUL, Walther lets CPS keep the kids
- Something Pretty Ugly: Cults and Bill Maher Mike Gallagher
- Back from trip to San Angelo April 17 "It seems reasonable to
believe that if Child Protective Services believes that a bunch of men
in a religious compound are molesting young girls, they would round up
the men, not hundreds of screaming, terrified children. As one emailer
put it to me, it seems like it's the children who were arrested
instead of the perpetrators. Again, no one wants child molesters to
get away with their evil crimes. But not every allegation of abuse is
true. "
JUDGE RULES CPS KEEPS KIDS, VOSS TESTIFIES CHILDREN
IN DANGER, PERRY: FOSTER CARE WOULD BE WORSE
- Judge Walther rules CPS can keep kids
- By evening, only three witnesses had testified, including state
child welfare investigator Angie Voss, who said women may have had
children when they were minors, some as young as age 13.
- “We are very, very pleased with the judge's
decision,” said Marleigh Meisner, CPS spokeswoman.
- FLDS women “The children, I love you.”
CPS: We are very gratified with today's decision to keep all the
children in temporary state custody because it stops the abuse and
keeps all the children safe. This allows us to keep children safe as
we conduct a complete and thorough investigation and provide the
physical and mental health services they need. The children's safety
is our top priority. Our goal is always to reunite children with their
parents if we can do so and make sure the child will be safe. Today's
decision is about the safety of children. It is not a decision about
religious freedom. The children will be allowed to worship freely.
advocates, and hopefully the parents, to make the best decisions we
can for the long-term health and safety of the children. We will
update the court on the progress of each child's case by June 5
http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/About/News/2008/2008-04-18_news.asp
“Your children are ours,” said CPS.
http://blog.thecurseof1920.com/?p=8 April 18 Eldorado Yearning For
Zion women experience the most feared words ever spoken: ‘Your
children are ours,’ CPS Filed Under Yearning For Zion Ranch, FLDS
Photo: Marie, mother of three boys “The death penalty of family law
cases.” This is how the events unfolding for 416 children and their
now-separated mothers were described as the State of Texas and Child
Protective Services (CPS) mount their largest single attack ever on
families
Fearfully, these distressed mothers are not alone in their harrowing
experience. After working with 300 cases in Georgia alone, State
Senator Nancy Schaefer filed a report, concluding: “I believe Child
Protective Services nationwide has become corrupt and that the entire
system is broken almost beyond repair. I am convinced parents and
families should be warned of the dangers. … It obliterates families
and children simply because it has the power to do so.”
Carolyn: Texas is going to do the right thing and protect these children
Flora: My hat is off to Texas. God Bless Texas for doing the right thing
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0804/18/ng.01.html NANCY GRACE
Tip That Caused Polygamist Raid Possibly Bogus Aired April 18, 2008 -
20:00:00 ET FLORA JESSOP, FORMER POLYGAMIST CHILD BRIDE: Oh, I`m so pleased with that
ruling. It`s -- my hat is off to Texas. God bless Texas for doing the
right thing, for finally protecting. LALAMA: And Carolyn Jessop, your
reaction? CAROLYN JESSOP, FMR. WIFE OF YFZ LEADER MERRILL JESSOP: I
am so relieved. I have just been literally on pins and needles all
day. I mean, this is such a relief that Texas is going to do the right
thing and protect these children. They deserve protection.
Court hearing concluded children to remain in state custody
flds: Despite lack of evidence judge rules that children remain in state
custody. Judge also orders parents to undergo DNA testing. Friday,
April 18, 2008 8:00:00 PM
We were in court all day. The one remaining CPS witness was a doctor
who, like Angie Voss, had consulted with an "expert" former FLDS
member to know how to deal with us people. He said how many wonderful
things we had going with these children, but he had one great concern:
that our children's brains would not develop because they were not
"allowed" to make choices. When it came down to whether the brain
amage would be greater than the trauma of taking these children from
their mother, he finally agreed that taking the children from their
mothers would be more damaging.
...But the children are the ones that are suffering. And I have not
once heard any of the mothers say, which is what I would say, I wonder
how my child is doing
----------------------------
This is a thread of messages in response to FOX News reporting on Rozita Swinton, on April 18.
[from 105.pdf p 372-373; (stamped page numbers 1435 and 1436)]
The messages are displayed here in chronological order, in REVERSE of the way they appear in the pdf file.
From: Krista Piferrer [mailto:krista.piferrer@governor.state.tx.usl
Sent: Friday, April 18, 2008 7:35 AM
To: AZAR, DARRELL
Subject: Fox Newser
Talking about 33 year old woman arrested for making prank phone calls - said to be
possibly connected to FLDS case. Think Gen Abbott is about to be on for what this means
legally. I'd tune in if I were you and your crew.
Krista Piferrer
From: AZAR, DARRELL 
A bus with women and children of the Yearning for Zion Ranch, home for members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, pulls into the Methodist Children's Home, Friday, April 25, 2008, in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Waco Tribune Herald, Jerry Larson)
Today, the last of the FLDS children were moved from the shelter at
the San Angelo coliseum into foster care settings across Texas. The
move was very orderly and calm. One child was transported to a
hospital with dehydration as a precaution. [She was left for 24 hours
in a stroller without food or water]
The mass shelter is now being closed. [One boy was found hiding
because he was so scared]
Moving 462 children into foster care was an important development. It
allows the children to live in safe, stable environments [as opposed
to the hell of a shelter] while the CPS investigation continues into
sexual, physical, and emotional abuse at the FLDS compound near
Eldorado, Texas.
While in the temporary custody of the state, all the children will be
protected and safe. [and miserable]
Caseworkers will be assigned to each child to make sure each receives
the medical, psychological, and educational services needed. All the
children were temporarily removed from the compound after an
investigation found a number of young teenagers were "spiritually"
married to mature men [none were found to be spiritually married] ,
and were pregnant [no teens found] and or had already given birth to
children. Investigators also found a pattern of grooming girls from a
young age to accept becoming marriage to middle aged men. CPS
identified 20 minors [disputed ages] and young adult women with
children who were impregnated between the ages of 13-16. CPS allowed
17 adult women with 17 infants under the age of 12 months to be placed
together in a shelter. The other children were mostly placed in
facilities and other groups settings. Every effort was made to keep
sibling groups together. Arrangements will be made to facilitate
visitation between the children and their mothers. No long term
decisions or recommendations have been made about where the children
will live. Judge Barbara Walther ruled that all the children would
remain in state conservatorship for now. Status hearings will begin
for each child starting in mid-May.
Children taken to foster care Children from the Coliseum are taken to
foster homes and shelters across Texas. Mothers who were in the
Coliseum say that most the children are sick with colds and fevers,
due to the air conditioning being left on constantly and the lack of
warm blankets. Anxious mothers work with child representatives to know
how their children are doing. Friday, April 25, 2008 8:00:00 AM
Friday, April 25, 2008 6:00:00 PM
Confidence in polygamy search warrant now shaky SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS
SERVICE ^ | 4/24/2008 | PAUL A. ANTHONY
Posted on 04/25/2008 12:41:31 PM PDT by Jim 0216 Revelations that the
March 29 phone call that sparked a raid on a West Texas polygamist
compound may be a hoax have led prosecutors to doubt the reason for
the original search-and-arrest warrant that granted authorities access
to the Yearning For Zion Ranch.
Photo: Who is she?
Friday, April 25, 2008
Who is she?
http://blogs.sltrib.com/plurallife/archives/2008_04_01_archive.htm
Girl in despair puts hand on window of bus
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695273793,00.html Last of the
FLDS kids removed from the coliseum, FLDS spokesman lashes out By Ben
Winslow Deseret News Published: Friday, April 25, 2008 3:32 p.m. MDT
SAN ANGELO, Texas — The remaining children being housed in a makeshift
shelter after a raid on the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch have
been bused out of here. The last buses pulled out of the San Angelo
Coliseum grounds in convoy about noon local time, escorted by police
cars and ambulances. Small children waved to reporters and
photographers as they drove by. Some appeared to be very young; one
child was seen holding a bottle. "There were some infants, but they
were infants of children," Chris Van Deusen, a spokesman for the Texas
Department of Family and Protective Services, told the Deseret News on
Friday
The spokesman said he knew of only two pregnant teenagers who were in
state protective custody
Archaea Cougarguard | 10:12 a.m. April 25, 2008 This short term pain
is necessary in order to break a long and tragic cycle of abuse to
children and women alike. I am amazed at the lack of understanding of
the devasting consequences of the polygamous lifestyle. The number of
practicing polygamist families is growing geometrically and must be
stopped. Calm down and look at the big picture. Better to stop the
cycle now than to face a larger problem in five years.
Children First | 10:36 a.m. April 25, 2008 I believe these children
must be taken to a safe place where they can begin a new life before
they deal with the women and men involved. Giving these children back
to their mothers now is going to continue the horrible cycle of abuse.
They will send these children to other states and compounds now that
they know the authorities are serious.
concern | 11:18 a.m. April 25, 2008 I am also of the census that these
children need to be taken away as sad as it may be. I read that some
of these children may not even belong to the mothers that they are
living with. If mothers and families are reassigned who knows what the
connection between the kids and the mothers may be
Hypocrites | 11:30 a.m. April 25, 2008 Everyone complains about CPS
riping children away from their mothers, etc. If CPS knew what was
going on in the YFZ Ranch/prison and didn't do anything about it you
would all be complaining and horrified CPS was letting such abuse take
place. Now that they go in and do something about it you're screaming
for CPS's head. If CPS doesn't seperate the children from the mothers
the mothers just go right back to the ranch/prison and subject the
children to mental, physical and sexual abuse. The mothers are the
enablers here.
Anonymous | 1:18 p.m. April 25, 2008 These people are immoral and
savage, we need to reeducate them just like we did when we forced
indian kids to go to white man school. our society is always better.
Kandi | 1:28 p.m. April 25, 2008 To Hector Ahumada: your assertion
that those women are "good, hard-working, faithful women" can only
come from one of two places; your (ignorant) assumption that they are
such, or your personal knowledge (ie, you know them personally). If
the first, I would like to know how you know this. I happen to have
first-hand experience living in a similar cult as a young woman (my
mother having joined when I was a young child--I, living there
periodically through my youth), and I can tell you that the mothers
there are hardly blameless, innocent, ...The women I knew sure did
work hard--at keeping the abuse, the truth, hidden from anyone who
could stop them. They sure were faithful--to the perverted "religion"
of abuse.
http://deseretnews.com/user/comments/1,5150,695273793,00.html
Mountain Man | 3:40 p.m. April 25, 2008 Some questions/comments from
the high country Does anyone (CPS, courts, sheriff's office personnel,
game wardens, FLDS) involved in this fiasco have an IQ over 80? I
would wager that: 1) the average CPS worker has had more sexual
partners than the average FLDS adult man; and, 2) the average CPS
worker started having sex earlier than the average FLDS female. If
the above two situations are correct, maybe Texas should take away the
children of the CPS workers and give them to the FLDS.
James | 5:59 p.m. April 25, 2008 My thanks to the great State of Texas
for actions in saving the 467 + innocent children from the LDS Male
pedophiles and their Female accomplices who blatantly disregard
Federal and State laws against child rape and the polygamy lifestyle.
James Logan, UT
Shocked | 10:46 p.m. April 27, 2008 The eyes of the world are watching
the police state of Texas kidnap 462 children based on a hearsay
warrant from a crank caller. I guess that's all it takes for Texas
Baptists to impose their brand of “social imperialism” on a minor
religious ethnicity. The mainstream media applaud as innocent
children are rounded up and imprisoned in a "Coliseum" awaiting their
fate at the jaws of the "CPS" lions. All the while Governor Caesar
plays his fiddle in Austen as the Constitution burns. According to
Texas statistics (www.dshs.state.tx.us/famplan/tpp.shtm), every ten
minutes a teen age girl gets pregnant in Texas and every 10 hours a 14
year old girl gets pregnant in Texas. There are thousands of teen
pregnancies and abortions in Texas each year. Why does the Governor
need a "Swat Team" of armed enforcers to kidnap 462 children to rescue
a few pregnant teens? And who’s prosecuting the thousands of abusers
who are impregnating these other teen girls in the great state of
Texas? Is this brand of freedom (?) and equality (?) why Texicans died
at the Alamo? Yes the eyes of the world are on the state of Texas and
we are appalled.
%%date: 4/26/08 Saturday April 26
sltrib publishes "Closing down the coliseum"
April 24, 2008 - Foster Care Could Be Wrenching for Texas Polygamist
Sect Children (News Article)
April 24, 2008 - Tough Transitions for Polygamy Sect Children (News Article)
April 24, 2008 - Judge budges, won't split up moms, babies (News Article)
April 26, 2008 - Focus on big picture beyond sect's story (News Article)
April 26, 2008 - Sweep of polygamists' kids raises legal questions (News Article)
%%date: 4/27/08 Sunday April 27
Inside private world of polygamist ranch Rumors are swirling about an
FLDS ranch brainwashing women and child brides suffering physical
abuse. What really went on? TRANSCRIPT By Keith Morrison
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24341780/
%%date: 4/28/08 April 28, 2008
%%date: 4/29/08 Tuesday April 29, 2008
* Pamela gives birth, press says she is teen
* WE Documentary Secret Lives of Women
* 31 of 53 girls are or have been pregnant
* nine of the sect's children have been hospitalized while in the
state's care and six are currently in a hospital.
* CPS revised its count of children in state care to 463. 250 are
girls and 213 are boys, he said. He denied reports quoting a Corpus
Christi lawyer as saying two of the boys had been lost.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/042908dntexpolygamist.ac3e120c.html
31 of 53 teen girls from polygamist sect are pregnant or have children
08:17 AM CDT on Tuesday, April 29, 2008
By ROBERT GARRETT / The Dallas Morning News
Sick children: CPS confirmed that nine of the sect's children have
been hospitalized while in the state's care and six are currently in a
hospital. The ailments have included dehydration, ear infections and
respiratory problems.
http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2008/04/flds-polygamy-s.html
FLDS polygamy sect gets a closer look - and it's chilling With their
long braids and old-fashioned dresses, the women of the Fundamentalist
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints compound in Texas project
an image of clean-scrubbed, prairie wholesomeness. Given that these
women and their children look like they’ve stepped out of etchings
from “Little House on the Prairie," you have to wonder, could what
went on at the FLDS’ Yearning for Zion compound really have been that
bad? The answer is yes, if several former FLDS women interviewed for
a Tuesday documentary on WE are to be believed. This week’s episode
of the WE documentary series “The Secret Lives of Women,” which airs
at 9 p.m. Tuesday on the cable channel, examines the world of the
breakaway polygamist cult. And this documentary does make the case
that the FLDS group is a cult, complete with a prophet who has made
doom-laden pronouncements about the necessity of “blood sacrifice” by
his followers.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24356447 Sect teen gives birth with state
standing by Of 53 girls ages 14-17, 31 have children or are pregnant,
Texas officials say updated 3:56 p.m. PT, Tues., April. 29, 2008 SAN
MARCOS, Texas - One of the hundreds of young polygamist-sect members
taken into state custody gave birth Tuesday to a healthy boy while
child welfare officials, state troopers and fellow sect members stood
watch outside the maternity ward.
%%date 4/30/08
Will legalization reduce abusive polygamy cults? - Megan McArdleApr 30, 2008 ... Polygamy, however, is almost always used these days in the non-techical sense of having more than one wife. Posted by Drypoint | April 30, ...
meganmcardle.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/04/will_legalization_reduce_abusi.php
Will legalization reduce abusive polygamy cults? 30 Apr 2008 02:07 pm
Tyler Cowen muses on Will Wilkinson's argument that yes, it would.
http://polygamybooks.org/2008/04/30/why-should-mormon-polygamy-be-respected-as-a-sincere-belief.aspx
Why should Mormon Polygamy be respected as a sincere belief?Posted by
John Llewellyn at 4/30/2008 8:48 AM and is filed under Cultural Norms
The Aztec religion resorted to human sacrifice to appease their gods.
Anthropologists have identified other pagan religions that are just as
repulsive to an enlightened culture. Should these cultures be revived
for the sake of preserving a culture?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
%%date 5/1/08 May 1, 2008
* Broken bones are floated as evidence of abuse
*
May 1 notes:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,353418,00.html
Texas Officials Looking at Possible Abuse of Texas Sect Boys
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Cockerell told a legislative committee the investigation has been
difficult because members of the church have refused to cooperate.
Mothers who stayed with their children for two weeks after the raid
launched a coordinated effort to stymie investigators, coaching their
children to not answer questions, Cockerell said.
He said the women and children would gather into apparent family
units, with the children referring to several women as their mother,
then the "women switched children in these family units ... making it
difficult."
"When asked, women and children would change their names and ages," he
said.
The CPS report also said authorities "tried to use bracelets to
identify children, but the women and children removed the bracelets or
rubbed the wording off them."
The report also said mothers at first refused to let the children
undergo basic health screenings and that "many" teen girls declined to
take pregnancy tests.
On Monday, CPS announced that almost 60 percent of the underage girls
living on the Eldorado ranch are pregnant or already have children.
blog: http://melissarogers.typepad.com/melissa_rogers/2008/05/an-amended-peti.html
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/content/mobile/0,5223,695275333,00.html
FLDS women petition to have kids returned By Brian West Deseret News
Published: May 1, 2008 Attorneys for 38 FLDS women filed a new appeal
Wednesday seeking to have more than 400 children returned to their
mothers. The petition alternatively asks the 3rd Court of Appeals to
order the men to leave the YFZ Ranch and allow the children to return,
or order mothers and their children to live elsewhere. "The trial
court could order the men — the alleged perpetrators of abuse — to
vacate the ranch, or it could order the women to live elsewhere with
the children during the pendency of the investigation," says the
petition filed by attorneys for Texas RioGrande Legal Aid. The appeal
also suggests the court has the option of issuing protective orders
against the men preventing any contact with the women and children.
must return the children unless it can prove the following:
• That there was a danger to the physical health or safety of a child
caused by the parent, and remaining in the home is contrary to the
welfare of the child.
• The urgent need for protection requires immediate removal of the
child, and reasonable efforts are made to prevent the child's removal.
• Reasonable efforts have been made to enable the child to return
home, but there is a substantial risk of continuing danger if the
child is returned home.
...petition states she had no knowledge of babies being sexually
abused, no evidence of boys being physically abused and no knowledge
of any males who had conceived a child or had sex with a girl younger
than 17.
"The record is devoid of any evidence of danger to the physical health
or safety of girls under the age of 15 years. It is also devoid of any
evidence of any danger to physical health or safety to any boys
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/region/legislature/stories/05/01/0501foster.html
State officials: Sect children's broken bones 'cause for concern'
State also looking into possible sexual abuse of boys from Eldorado
ranch. By Corrie MacLaggan AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Thursday, May 01,
2008 State child welfare workers want to know why 41 of the children
removed from a polygamous sect's ranch near Eldorado have had broken
bones in the past. And they're investigating whether young boys were
sexually abused at the West Texas compound
... the majority of those households do not reflect the presence of
an underage wife."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/us/01raid.html
Texas Reports Added Signs of Abuse at Sect’s Ranch
By DAN FROSCH
At least 41 children seized from a polygamist ranch in West Texas in April have had broken bones, and some young boys may have been sexually abused, Texas officials said.
May 1, 2008
date: 5/2/08
CLAIMED TO BE 18 BUT WAS TAKEN ANYWAYS
http://heartkeepercommonroom.blogspot.com/2008/05/flds-updates-for-52.html
http://www.kristv.com/global/story.asp?s=8258677
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/02/home/main4064012.shtml
May 2, 2008
Judge orders FLDS newborn into state custody
A judge ordered that the baby boy born to a girl taken from a
polygamous sect's ranch in West Texas be placed in state custody,
according to documents released Thursday.
http://www.wikio.com/webinfo?id=55316951
New Appeal Filed By FLDS Mothers In Attempt To Regain Custody of
ChildrenReligion Clause (Free subscription) | 05/02/2008 On Wednesday,
attorneys for 38 mothers of children taken from the FLDS Ranch in
Eldorado, Texas filed an an Amended Petition for Writ of Mandamus (
full text ) with a Texas state appellate court seeking return of their
children. The case is captioned In re Sara Steed, et. al. (TX 3d Ct.
App.). The new petition argues that the trial court abused its
discretion in failing to return the children to their...
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/02/2233581.htm Polygamous
sect made 'big mistake' coming to Texas Posted Fri May 2, 2008 11:27am
AEST A member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints tells reporters about being separated from her four
children outside of the Texas ranch (Reuters: Jessica Rinaldi ) When a
renegade Mormon sect was looking for a quiet place to live out its
polygamous beliefs, it made a Texas-sized mistake when it picked the
southern state to move to.
the call may have been a hoax from a woman in Colorado, adding to the
view among people living nearby that authorities had been preparing
for the raid and ultimately aimed to run the sect out of town. "They
just used it as an excuse to go in there. And they have an agenda.
They will close the place down," said Charles McDaniel, a retired
firefighter in the nearby town of San Angelo. The scale of the
operation suggests that Texas was ready. Dozens of heavily armed
police went into the compound with an armoured personal carrier and
met almost no resistance.
FLORA: GOD BLESS TEXAS "They have done what we have been trying to get
Utah and Arizona to do for 100 years and that is protect children,"
said Flora Jessop, who was raised in an Fundamentalist Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-Day Saints community from which she fled when she was
a teenager. "I say, God bless Texas."
-----------------------------------------------
date: 5/3/08
http://www.reporternews.com/news/2008/may/03/states-action-in-flds-case-raises-questions/
Opinion Columns
State's action in FLDS case raises questions
Saturday, May 3, 2008
By now nearly everyone
and his uncle have heard about the actions the state of Texas has
taken against the folks who lived at the Yearning For Zion (YFZ) Ranch
outside of Eldorado. State authorities from the attorney general on
down to the local district attorney have said they believe that adults
were systematically abusing the kids at the YFZ Ranch. These same
authorities also seem to equate underage pregnancy with child abuse.
Why?
Section 262.104 says that in circumstances like those at the YFZ
Ranch, restraining orders must be obtained before any removal unless
it's an emergency, such as a state or law enforcement official with
"personal knowledge" of sexual abuse of the child.
"Personal knowledge of facts" must exist before the state can act.
Again, the state didn't care. Do you care? What are you going to do
if they come after your kids? Tom Avant is a freelance writer and a
former Hamlin mayor
http://www.wikio.com/webinfo?id=55465706
Texas authorities cancel warrant for man accused of abusing FLDS
girlRight Mind (Free subscription) | 05/03/2008 From the Salt Lake
Tribune : AMARILLO, Texas — Texas authorities have canceled the arrest
warrant for the Arizona man who had been suspected of physically and
sexually abusing a teenage girl — allegations that launched last
month’s raid on an FLDS ranch in Eldorado. The man named in the
warrant, Dale E. Barlow, was never arrested and denied knowing the
girl. Rod Parker, a Salt Lake City attorney representing...
Warrant dropped against man named in polygamist retreat raidDetroit
Free Press (Free subscription) | 05/03/2008 ELDORADO, Texas -- An
arrest warrant has been dropped for a man thought to be the husband of
a teenage girl whose report of abuse triggered a raid on a polygamous
sect's Texas compound, authorities said Friday.
add comment send to a friend Explore : Jon M. Huntsman Jr., Polygamy, Sexuality, Texas
%%date 5/6/08 May 6, 2008
VIsits Allowed FLDS mothers are being allowed to visit their children
in the different shelters. The mothers are exhausted from the
continual traveling from one end of the state to another, yet they are
willing to do whatever it takes to see and encourage their children.
The children are very happy to see their mothers and fathers, and beg
to come home. Being separated from the daily contact with their
mothers has made the children very insecure. The parents are grateful
for the many kind CPS workers and caseworkers who have been helpful
and easy to work with. Tuesday, May 06, 2008 4:00:00 PM
%%date: 5/5/08
http://www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=POLYGAMY-DAD-05-05-08
Sect father speaks out
By BROOKE ADAMS and NATE CARLISLE
Salt Lake Tribune
2008-05-05 00:00:00
ELDORADO, Texas -- As Richard Barlow walked eight of his children to a
bus that would take them away from the YFZ Ranch, he gave each one
advice.
"I spoke very freely. I said, 'Let us be at peace,' " he said.
And: "Be strong."
That was a month ago. Today his children are scattered from one end of
Texas to the other and he and his wife, Susan, are desperate to see
them. Only a few men who lived with their families at the ranch, all
members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints, have spoken out since the April 3 raid that led to the removal
of 464 children because of abuse allegations. Most fear doing so will
make them targets of prosecution or hamper their efforts to bring
their children home. But Barlow, 40, decided to take that risk to
share how the event has torn apart his family. Barlow, a college
graduate, was 23 when he married 20-year-old Susan, his legal wife.
Their first child, a daughter, is now 15. Seven more children
followed, ages 4 to 13
%%date: 5/8/08
http://www.sanangelolive.com/node/4347
The Road to Eldorado: They Saw it Coming
By Jennifer Litz
Editor
May 8, 2008
---------------------------------------------------------
%%date 5/11/08
* Ben Stein speak out against raid on CBS sunday morning news "GESTAPO
TACTICS, PURE AND SIMPLE"
"GESTAPO TACTICS, PURE AND SIMPLE"
Sunday May 11, 2008? CBS Sunday morning news
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh7cE3lB16A Ben Stein speaks out
against FLDS raid "incredible cruelty and incompetence of the state of
texas" "Look, if there's any evidence of cruelty by these families to
these kids, where is it??... This is a nightmare. For no reason
except what looks like a crank phone call, the lives of these children
have been turned upside down and into a screaming horror movie. Can't
someone say the obvious here? Governor Perry, wake up and give those
kids back to their mothers until you have some compelling proof and
reason to do otherwise. What your state is doing here is gestapo
tactics pure and simple."
%%date: 5/9/08
-------------------------------------------------------------------
%%date: 5/10/08
May 10 notes:
HAVE NEVER SEEN WOMEN AND CHILDREN TREAT THIS POORLY .. CIVIL RIGHTS
BEING DISREGARDED
[gd may 10 articles]
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/5770183.html Mental
health workers rip CPS over sect Staff complains agency traumatized
kids, disregarded mothers' rights By ROGER CROTEA San Antonio
Express-news May 10, 2008, 10:39PM All nine reports by employees of
the Hill Country Community Mental Health-Mental Retardation Center
expressed varying degrees of anger toward the state's child welfare
agency for removing the children from their community, separating them
from their mothers or for the way CPS workers conducted themselves at
the shelter. .. "I have worked in Domestic Violence/Sexual Abuse
programming for over 20 years and have never seen women and children
treated this poorly, not to mention their civil rights being
disregarded in this manner," one wrote. The workers spent several
days in San Angelo, some shortly after the April 3 search of the
Yearning for Zion Ranch prompted by a sexual abuse complaint, during
the chaotic opening of a shelter in the city's coliseum, or in the
days leading up to the children's dispersal to foster care facilities
across the state later that month.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
%%date: 5/12/08 Monday May 12: Louisa Jessop and CPS has a new baby
Louisa Jessop called "teen" gives birth at 11am, place on floor with mattress with baby.
"The placement is appropriate and comfortable," the CPS spokesman told NBC.
"I'm doing well myself. I feel like we've been a little abused by the CPS."
Mike Gallagher radio show day May 12, 2008
The State vs. FLDS
Mike Gallagher
Mike follows up on last month's raids on the FLDS ranch in San Angelo, TX.
* http://townhall.com/TalkRadio/Show.aspx?ContentGuid=e4e592da-366c-4047-b3a8-12e105d78bc7&RadioShowId=2
* ‘I'm homeless and childless’ says mother of six among 460 in state custody
May 12 notes:
‘I'm homeless and childless’ says mother of six among 460 in state custody
MSNBC http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24576081/
Polygamy sect parents say state has scattered children More than a
month since their children were taken into custody by the state of
Texas in a raid on an FLDS compound in Eldorado, Texas, two sets of
parents and a representative for the families alleged that the state
has deliberately scattered and isolated the children. James and Nancy
Dockstader described living mostly in the covered bed of their truck,
traveling to the far corners of Texas in hope of seeing their five
children. Another FLDS couple, Rulon and Lorene Keate, said they drive
from one end of the huge state to another for three days at a time,
trying to see their six children. And even when there are visits, they
said, the men who say they are the children’s fathers are not allowed
to visit them at all. “It is truly a nightmare. We just are empty,”
James Dockstader told TODAY’s Meredith Vieira in an interview Monday
in New York. “We need our children returned. Life is nothing without
them.”
CPS Kicked Her and Her Baby Out of the Hospital onto Mattress on the Floor
Day-old baby among 400 FLDS kids in custody
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24604291/
Louisa Jessop says she, newborn son are sharing a mattress on a floor
AP Photo: Dan Jessop and his wife Louisa Bradshaw share a short moment together Friday, May 23,...
By Jenny Hoff and Mike Celizic
TODAYShow.com contributor
updated 6:49 p.m. PT, Tues., May. 13, 2008
Louisa Jessop's voice is small and precise and remarkably calm considering where she says she is calling from and what she's just been through.
On Monday, just a day earlier, the FLDS member and former resident of the Yearning for Zion ranch had given birth to a son, Richard, her third child. And now, she tells NBC News, she is in a small and bare room furnished with a foam mattress on the floor in a foster home in Austin, Texas. Her husband, Dan Jessop, is staying at a motel in town. Her other two children, Amber, 4, and Rolan, 2, are in a foster home under the custody of the Texas Child Protection Service (CPS).
"I would like to be with my children and my husband and live in a home where we can take care of them," she said in a telephone interview.
Louisa Jessop's children were among the more than 400 who were taken from the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints compound raided early last month by Texas law enforcement and CPS officials. She says she's 22 and has presented authorities with a driver's license and birth certificate to prove it. But CPS spokesman Chris Van Deusen told NBC that the department has classified her as a "disputed minor," the term used for an FLDS woman whose age has not been established to the department's satisfaction. Until her age is established, they are treating her as if she is a minor.
"They said I looked like I was under 18," she said.
And so Louisa Jessop is stuck. She's been told she can leave, but she has to leave her newborn son and her other two children in foster care. Or she can stay with her newborn son, but can no longer be with her other children.
Two police officers and two CPS officials were present to welcome Richard into his confused world at 11 a.m.
Before Louisa could be separated from Richard, the couple's attorney got a temporary restraining order to allow her to stay with him in the small room where both mother and infant sleep on the same mattress. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday to determine whether to continue the injunction.
Louisa Jessop stayed at the birthing center for just a few hours. By 9:30 p.m., she said, she was at a CPS office. From there she was taken to the foster home where she remains.
"The placement is appropriate and comfortable," the CPS spokesman told NBC.
In the meantime, the young woman says she is trying to improve her living quarters.
"I'm working on cleaning it up so we can have a healthy environment for the baby."
A reporter asked her what it's been like.
"I don't really know," she said. "I don't know - just quite the experience."
"Are you scared?"
A long silence followed. Finally, she said, "I'm not really scared because I know Heavenly Father will see us through."
Despite just having given birth, she says she's not uncomfortable. "I'm doing well myself. I feel like we've been a little abused by the CPS."
Van Deusen, the CPS spokesman, told NBC that the department is trying to determine the ages of all women who may be minors. Officials seized truckloads of records from the compound and have said that it has been very difficult just to sort out which children belong to which women. The commonality of surnames makes the task more difficult. After the raid, the department had said that it believed that 31 girls between the ages of 14-17 were either pregnant or mothers. At least one of those women has since been reclassified as being of legal age.
Louisa Jessop has contributed DNA for state-ordered testing and hopes that the question of her age is soon settled so that she can leave with her son. She said that she is Dan Jessop's only wife and that the couple had moved to the Eldorado ranch from the FLDS community on the Arizona-Utah border just a few months before the raid.
She said she was being treated kindly at the foster home, where a woman loaned her a cell phone so she could call NBC.
Within the FLDS community, Dan Jessop, 24, said, "Everybody has a strong interest in each other and everybody's children ... Out here nobody cares at all from one family to the next."
When Louisa Jessop was asked what she does to pass the time, she said, "Just taking care of my baby."
http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2008/05/yfz-kids-abused-and-neglected-under-cps.html
Kathy said... I'm positive a convicted criminal in prison would have
been made more comfortable than this new mother and her baby. If this
is how Texas treats the people that they "rescue", I hope I never,
ever need their brand of "help"!! 5/13/2008 09:19:00 AM
Headmistress, zookeeper said... I've read that they had no suitable
facilities for a newborn, but since they knew Mrs. Jessop was pregnant
before they moved her there, that seems weak to me. I've also read
there was an outbreak of chicken pox at the shelter where she was, so
not returning her there is reasonable. Making her sleep on an air
mattress on the floor within hours of giving birth (shoot, within six
weeks of giving birth) is unconscionably inhumane and cruel.
8 COMMENTS: Melanie said... I've read the news articles on Mrs.
Jessop giving birth and the authorities trying to move them in the
middle of the night, but my question is - why were they being moved at
all? Why aren't they in the hospital? Unless she doesn't want to stay
in the hospital (which may well be, considering their "back to basics"
approach to living and medicine) they should be in the hospital for at
least 2 days following birth. Has anyone seen the answer to this?
5/13/2008 08:03:00 AM Anonymous said... Melanie,
Most physicians would want to monitor the newborn for a day or two
(check for first BM, monitor glucose) before releasing it.
It was curious to me that in one report on the dehydrated toddler that
the attending physician told CPS that he was insisting the mother be
present.
If a physician felt that CPS was abusive or neglectful there is no one
for him to report it to. We need to hear from these doctors, but
because of privacy laws they won't be speaking. There is no one for
them to report the abuse to, and there is no way they can discuss it
with the media either because of the privacy laws. 5/13/2008 08:36:00
AM doran williams said...
Anon. The doctors you refer to MUST report child abuse and neglect.
They can report it to local law enforcement, or to CPS, itself. If
they are not in the jurisdiction of Judge Walther, a report to law
enforcement might get somewhere.
Some of the reports we've seen about bad health problems developing in
some of the kids may be sufficient to support a report of child abuse.
I say may, because I'm reluctant to grant to the media the presumption
that their reports are accurate. But if those reports are accurate,
then I hope someone will report abusive and/or neglectful behavior by
CPS employees to law enforcement and to CPS. Let us see what happens
then. We should not fall into the trap of assuming that the State of
Texas can legitimize child abuse and neglect.
By The Way, Grits. Do you know if there were ever any reports of child
abuse to CPS arising out of the behavior of TYC employees? If so, what
became of those reports; were they investigated by CPS? 5
5/13/2008 08:49:00 AM kbp said... CPS stopped in effort to remove
baby, his mother "...The judge said the mother and the three
youngsters will remain in Travis County until after a hearing Thursday
on Mr. Jessop's request that another district judge in Austin, Darlene
Byrne, order his wife and children released from state care."
Second sect baby born into Texas state custody "State officials...
said they were trying to determine her true age."
"CPS spokesman Patrick Crimmins... said officials were reviewing
documentation for those who claim they are of legal age."
That makes all of us feel better, knowing the state is trying here
(LOL!!). Anyone seen reports on how they are "trying"?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
%%date 5/13/08 May 13, 2008
New mom from sect 'not a child' : Big Country : Abilene Reporter ...
Walther granted Tuesday afternoon CPS' request to take that boy,
identified as Richard Daniel Jessop in court documents, into temporary
custody and set an initial hearing in his ...
www.reporternews.com/news/2008/may/13/new-mom-from-sect-not-a-child
Date: Tuesday, May 13, 2008 8:00:00 AM Salt Lake Tribune publishes
report from Mental Health workers
Lyon, Julia (13 May 2008). "Caregivers blast Texas' treatment of
polygamous sect's women, children", Salt Lake Tribune.
Caregivers blast Texas' treatment of polygamous sect's women, children
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_9238520
By Julia Lyon
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 05/13/2008 09:17:24 AM MDT
Tuesday, May 13, 2008 12:00:00 AM Fathers Fathers are allowed to visit
their children. Tuesday, May 13, 2008 8:00:00 PM Apostates allowed at
Cal Farley CPS allows apostates (distant relatives and dissident
member of the FLDS) to dress as FLDS members and visit Cal Farley's
Boy's Ranch. (Carolyn or Flora Jessop??)
------------------------------------------------------------
%%date 5/15/08 Thursday, May 15, 2008 6:00:00 PM
------------------------------------------------------------
%%date: 5/18/08 May 18, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008 3:00:00 PM "Keep Sweet" a mark on FLDS parent's
record Some parents are told that they must not use the words "keep
sweet" when they visit with their children, or they, (the parents)
will get a mark on their record.
Religious Persecution - Books, audio confiscated of W Jeffs, Rulon,
Leroy Johnson. In the shelters the books, photos, pamphlets, CD's, or
ipods that have the words of Warren S. Jeffs are taken from the
children. In some shelters the sermon books of Leroy S. Johnson and
Rulon T. Jeffs have also been confiscated. The children are grateful
for the Book of Mormon to read. Sunday, May 18, 2008 4:00:00 PM
http://www.wikio.com/webinfo?id=57245545
FLDS Parents Served By Formal Publication NoticeReligion Clause (Free
subscription) | 05/18/2008 The state of Texas this week formally
published legal notices serving process on both identified and unknown
FLDS parents of children held in custody by the Department of Family
and Protective Services. The "Citations By Publication/Posting" ( full
text ) were published in this week's Eldorado Success. Today's Deseret
News reports on this, as well as on an open letter ( full text ) to
Texas Governor...
%%date: 5/19/08
http://blogs.sltrib.com/plurallife/archives/2008_05_01_archive.htm
May 19, 2008
Disputed minors, a continuing story
The five-judge panel dispatched with about 40 status hearings for the
FLDS children today, and in between all the blah-blah there were a few
interesting developments. I am going to break these up into separate
posts.
The state agreed today that two more disputed minors are actually
adults. Merilyn Barlow is 18 -- which is exactly what she told CPS
back in the good old Fort Concho days. She even provided a birth
certificate to prove it.
Merilyn was listed on Angie Voss' 20-minors chart, too, the one used
to support the ''pervasive pattern'' argument during court proceedings
in April. The chart listed Merilyn with a DOB of 1/7/1990. So she was
18 the day Voss testified in court.
Merilyn gave birth to her son Robert on Dec. 30, 2006, a week before
she turned 17.
The state listed her on the chart as being 15 at conception and 15
when she gave birth. Oops. I get 16 and 16 when I do the math.
She also is listed on a Bishop's Record document that the state
provided as evidence in the hearing. Dated 3-25-2007, it shows her as
17.
Yep.
The other disputed minor now identified as an adult is Sarah Cathleen
Jessop Nielsen, who is 18 -- information available to the state both
in Voss' chart and a Bishop's Record.
On Voss' chart, there is this notation about Sarah: ''DOB 3/27/1990;
Bishop's Record shows her 16 on 3/24/07.''
Point being, apparently, that she was 16 when she conceived her child,
who was born in May 2007. The Bishop's Record shows it was the first
child for Sarah and her husband, who is 20 or 21 now.
So, let's see: 26 minus 4 leaves 22.
There are now 22 ''girls'' in the disputed age category.
The state also ''unsuited'' the case involving the fictitious ''Sarah
Jessop Barlow,'' the girl who supposedly made the call for help that
triggered the April 3 raid on the YFZ Ranch. She's not real and now
there is no case on the books involving her.
So perhaps the real count is 21, but it is hard to say since the state
refuses to offer any clarity on the whole disputed minor issue. For
instance, how about a year by year breakdown of the girls ages 14 to
17 who are pregnant, mothers or both?
%%date 5/20/08
http://www.wikio.com/webinfo?id=57451159
Texas estimates cost of caring for polygamist sect's children at
$21MReligion News Blog (Free subscription) | 05/20/2008 Foster-care
payments for more than 450 youngsters removed because of possible
child abuse at the group's Eldorado ranch will cost nearly $1 million
a month, commission spokeswoman Stephanie Goodman said.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
%%date: 5/21/08
* Ellen Goodman piece slams sympathy for ranch children as as
relativism run amok.
* Custody case has cost over $5 million
Goodman: When it comes to Texas polygamist sect, relativism runs amok
Ellen Goodman, THE BOSTON GLOBE Wednesday, May 21, 2008 During the
Vietnam War there was a ... Indeed, many teenage boys are routinely
banished to preserve the odds of polygamy.
www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/05/20/0521goodman_edit.html
FLDS custody case has cost more than $5.2 million Deseret Morning News
(Free subscription) | 05/21/2008 A month after the raid on the FLDS
ranch in Eldorado, Texas, state agencies had racked up $1.7 million in
overtime costs and are now footing a monthly bill of $1.3 million to
keep some 460 children in state custody, a new report shows.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
%%date: 5/22/08 May 22
* Court of Appeals rules children must be returned
* CPS returns to ranch for more children
May 22 notes:
FLDS shun Texas officials twice at ranchSalt Lake Tribune (Free
subscription) | 05/22/2008 ELDORADO, Texas - Texas child welfare
officials returned to a polygamous sect's ranch twice Wednesday
because they had "new information" that children were there but were
not allowed on the property.
Writ of Mandamus A unanimous decision by the Texas Third
Court of Appeals in Austin on May 22, 2008, was a resounding victory
for the FLDS people and a vindication of the position that we have
taken since the YFZ community was raided last month. The Court said
that there was no evidence of an "immediate" or "urgent" danger
justifying the removal of the children and directed the district court
to vacate its decision giving CPS custody of the children. The Court
of Appeals will issue a writ of mandamus "if the district court fails
to comply with this opinion." Thursday, May 22, 2008 11:00:00 AM
http://www.westwoodone.com/pg/jsp/larryking/transcript.jsp;jsessionid=FF66D0172F9BCE25199FC0835F4F2CCE?pid=22204
Aired May 22, 2008 - LARRY KING, HOST:
Tonight, a Texas-sized victory for the polygamy moms. A court says the
state had no right to take and keep their kids. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROD PARKER, ATTORNEY FOR YFZ FAMILIES: They're very thrilled. They're
looking forward to having the children come home.
I Spent the Day Crying2008-05-22 21:29:29
Bill Medvecky
http://www.truthwillprevail.org/index.php?parentid=1&index=27
I Haven't really cried for 27 years, the child who was ripped from my
arms is now a middle aged ward of the State living some place in
obscurity in the State's system. Maybe he's dead. I laid all that to
rest in 1981, and started a new life with a wife and eventually had 5
great children. Until the day they raided the Ranch, I numbed myself
to the outside world.
When I saw your children, I knew why I was still sticking around.
Today I cried. I cried for the children, and I cried for the parents.
I guess I also cried for this stupid country, it finally began to make
some sense again.
%%date: 5/23/08 May 23
CNN NEWSROOM
FLDS Mom Breaks her Silence
Aired May 23, 2008 - 09:00 ET
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Anyone can see Pamela
Jessop is young. And when Texas investigators raided the FLDS compound
in April, she says they immediately asked her questions.
PAMELA JESSOP, FLDS MOTHER: I was honest. I showed them my birth
certificate and they acknowledged it, that I was 18.
MATTINGLY: A case worker signed a statement saying Jessop provided her
age as 18. Her birth certificate says so. So does the bishop's list,
the sects own records collected as evidence. But the adult on paper
became a child in the eyes of state investigators and was sent to
foster care. Jessop says she thinks she knows why.
JESSOP: They kept me all this time just to get my little baby.
MATTINGLY: There was no doubt that Jessop was pregnant. She first
became a mom when she was 16. Her husband was 20. And at the raid, she
was just weeks from having her second baby.
JESSOP: It was supposed to be one of the happiest days of my life.
MATTINGLY: And what kind of day did it turn out to be?
JESSOP: One of the worst. One of the most stressful. I'm feeling like
(INAUDIBLE) are all around me trying to snatch my baby the minute I
shut my eyes or lay him down.
MATTINGLY: Jessop was kept in foster care. Her age was disputed until
she delivered a baby boy. Jessop says foster care workers were in the
delivery room with her. Shortly after, the baby was legally placed in
state custody, but under Jessop's care.
JESSOP: They're dealing with our lives and they've treated us like
animals. I can't trust a single person now.
MATTINGLY: Pamela Jessop's attorney says they see a pattern among
their FLDS clients.
ANDREA SLOAN, ATTORNEY: They put them on that list so that they could
continue to have them in custody so that they could continue to either
question them in connection with their investigation without their
attorneys present or, in the cases of the young women who are going to
deliver their babies while in state custody, so they can get the
babies. MATTINGLY (on camera): Keeping them honest, we contacted Texas
Child Protective Services and heard a very different story about
Pamela Jessop. We were told that Jessop never showed investigators her
birth certificate proving that she was 18. We are also told that she
was actually happy to go on to foster care so that she could be close
to her one-year-old son and at no time did she ever request to leave.
How many times did you ask them, why are you keeping.
JESSOP: A hundred times.
MATTINGLY: Is this something you ask everyday.
JESSOP: Oh, yes.
MATTINGLY: The state says any disputed minor who proves they are an
adult is release. But Pamela Jessop stands by her story.
http://townhall.com/columnists/MikeGallagher/2008/05/23/whose_kids_are_they_anyway
Friday, May 23, 2008 Whose Kids Are They Anyway? by Mike Gallagher
Day: May 24 Louisa Bradshaw Jessop Gives Birth, State Admits she's an
adult, takes her baby June 11, 2008...10:29 pm
Sat May 24, 2:25 AM ET Prev 81 of 148 Next Dan Jessop and his wife
Louisa Bradshaw share a short moment together Friday, May 23, 2008
after a custody hearing on their newborn son. Jessop said this was
only the second time he had seen his child. State child welfare
authorities have agreed to reunite 12 children from a west Texas
polygamist sect with their parents until the state Supreme Court rules
on their custody case. (AP Photo/Trent Nelson - The Salt Lake
Tribune)
Sat May 24, 2:23 AM ET Dan Jessop and his wife Louisa Bradshaw are
surrounded by cameras as they leave the Tom Green County Courthouse,
Friday,
date: 5/24/08 May 24
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/24/us/24raid.html
Texas Tries to Reverse Court Ruling in Sect Case
By RALPH BLUMENTHAL; JOHN DOUGHERTY CONTRIBUTED REPORTING FROM LAS VEGAS, DAN FROSCH FROM DENVER and GRETEL C. KOVACH FROM DALLAS.
The Texas government turned to the state’s highest court to keep children seized from a polygamy sect in custody.
May 24, 2008
Date: 5/26/08 May 26
1 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4828149036256316019
2 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2511166576355897464
Radio show
FLDS Truth! The Real Scoop on the YFZ Raid (hour 1 of 2) - 60 min - May 26, 2008
Indy in Asia, Interview Moderator; Sam, Guest - www.captivefldschildren.org
2 children died in short creek raid for lack of medical care
Date: 5/28/08 May 28 Nancy Grace Don't Send Kids Back To Abusers!
Natalie was part of Nancy Grace's May 28 CNN hatchet job tag-team
event. Grace ranted like a nut case against the FLDS and Texas Third
Court of Appeals, referring snidely to "alleged abuse on little boys
and 41 known children with broken bones" (that's 41 lifetime cases of
broken bones among 440 children raised on a ranch!) and calling Warren
Jeffs a "crazy polygamy cult leader" and "nothing but a pervert" on
the basis of unauthenticated photos broadcast by Texas CPS as a ploy
to inflame public opinion. Nancy gloried in the slime. Natalie - far
from moderating Nancy by saying, "wait, those photos haven't been
authenticated" - fed the flames. Aired May 28, 2008 - 20:00:00 ET
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Tonight: A stunning ruling by a three-panel set of
judges there up in their ivory tower sending 400-plus children back
behind remote and isolated walls of a Texas polygamist compound. But
tonight, authorities fight back, finally showing a little of what
they`ve got. Shocking photos just released show the FLDS prophet
Warren Jeffs planting deep kisses on two of his child brides, one age
12, the other 13. One shot, their first anniversary photo. She`s 12!
The crazy polygamy cult leader may be worshipped as a prophet, but the
photos now prove he`s nothing but a pervert, proving allegations of
systematic marriages forced on little girls, not to mention alleged
abuse on little boys and 41 known children with broken bones. Yet the
three- judge panel sent those children back to this? And to top it all
off, Warren Jeffs caught on tape admitting he`s no prophet.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/060408dntexcps.3ba4457.html
AUSTIN - State officials, fearing a violent reaction from members of a
West Texas polygamist sect, considered a secret plan to haul hundreds
of children and their mothers to Midlothian to be separated, internal
e-mails show. But a judge vetoed the plan. By CHRISTY HOPPE / The
Dallas Morning News choppe@dallasnews.com
They also worried that mothers would try to make a "run" from the shelter with their children, feared a rampage of infections among the families and fretted about the fear of violence and state resources being overwhelmed by events.
Judge keeps polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs' daughter in foster care
More than 1,500 pages of e-mails between the governor's office and Child Protective Services, obtained by The Dallas Morning News under state freedom of information laws, show top executives working day and night in early April to deal with a raid on the Yearning for Zion ranch that quickly mushroomed into a massive operation. In the first week, more than 1,000 personnel were deployed and costs reached $2.3 million.
Conspicuously absent in the e-mail strings was Gov. Rick Perry. While his executive staff was exchanging information and tracking events, Mr. Perry did not receive a full briefing from officials until five days after the raid - when more than 500 people were being held in state-run shelters.
Spokeswoman Krista Piferrer said that because the situation was highly charged and fluid, Mr. Perry used the phone and personal updates from his staff to stay informed. During his administration, he has avoided using e-mail because the content is subject to open-records requests. The governor's office and CPS withheld hundreds of pages of messages, citing state laws exempting confidential information.
Ms. Piferrer said the governor was engaged but deferred to the experts at Child Protective Services and the Department of Public Safety to conduct the investigation and do their work.
The governor's office was first informed there was a problem on April 1, when CPS and Texas Rangers said they were planning to raid the polygamist ranch in two days - on a Thursday. The impetus was a call from a 16-year-old pregnant girl - later determined to be a hoax - who reported physical and sexual abuse by her 49-year-old "spiritual husband."
"They went in there not expecting to find 400 children," Ms. Piferrer said. "You can easily see where it went larger than just those two entities - CPS and law enforcement."
Within a day of the raid, more than 100 girls and women had left the compound, but more children kept turning up as log cabins on the ranch were searched. Supplies were called in from the Red Cross, Goodfellow Air Force Base and local shelters. CPS workers' state-issued credit cards were quickly maxed out.
Hundreds in custody
As the weekend passed, more than 400 children were in custody. The Governor's Division of Emergency Management had set up a command post, state agencies had pitched in - including even the Forest Service - and hundreds of state workers had been deployed.
Among other details the e-mails reveal:
oDays after the raid, the governor's office apparently did not have a copy of the "search warrant that the media seems to be reading from," which contained basic information supporting the raid. Plus, an outbreak of chicken pox at the shelter prompts emergency operations chief Jack Colley to write: "Many concerns. … This is getting out of hand."
oThe governor's staff prepared for him two pages of "key message points, mostly in preparation for an interview with religious broadcaster Pat Robertson to promote the governor's new book on the Boy Scouts.
oOn April 10, the governor's human service policy director Kristi Jordan reported that "we have reason to believe as a result of interviews that some of the mothers are planning to conduct a 'run.' Their objective would be to hide from law enforcement authorities." Security is beefed up.
Many of the e-mails involve how to separate the mothers, more than 130 of them, who were staying with the children. CPS spokesman Patrick Crimmins said that it is standard procedure in an abuse case to remove the parents to mitigate their influence.
Picking Midlothian
Initially, the plan was to carry out the separation on Friday, April 11, by putting all the mothers and children on buses headed to a Salvation Army facility in Midlothian because of "security concerns with the separation taking place in San Angelo," Ms. Jordan summarized in an April 8 e-mail.
Ms. Piferrer explained that experts feared that emotional outbursts could turn violent, children could be hurt or alerted fathers could become involved. "There were concerns," Ms. Piferrer said. "We were prepared for that if indeed it came to a difficult situation."
She said that Midlothian offered a better-equipped and more secure location. "The model of emergency management is to hope for the best and plan for the worst," she said.
The women and children were not to be told until they were on the buses that all but nursing mothers would be separated into different living quarters from the children.
"Salvation Army indicated it would not allow the conflict associated with separation to occur in its facility, which is why the separation would occur at a secure location prior to entering the Salvation Army grounds," Ms. Jordan wrote.
The judge in charge of custody of the children eventually rejected the transfer. Instead, the separation occurred on April 14, without incident. But the e-mails show that field officers reported back to the governor's office virtually minute by minute on how it proceeded.
Willie Jessop, a leader of the Eldorado sect, said it was preposterous that women in the shelters were plotting an escape or that some mothers were trying to thwart the investigation.
"We never, never did anything other than to comply and to endure what they put us through," Mr. Jessop said. "There was never any type of inside escape plan. That would just never happen."
He expressed outrage that the governor's office was trying to move the mothers and children and separate them en route, outside of public view.
"When is the public going to hold this administration accountable for treating us worse than you would a dog?" he asked.
Staff writer Emily Ramshaw contributed to this report.
Secret emails: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/img/06-08/0604polygamists.pdf
Date: 5/29/08 May 29
http://blogs.sltrib.com/plurallife/archives/2008_05_01_archive.htm
Thursday, May 29, 2008
And thus they spoke . . .
''On the record before us, removal of the children was not warranted.
The Department argues without explanation that the court of appeals'
decision leaves the department unable to protect the children's
safety, but the Family Code gives the district court broad authority
to protect children short of separating them from their parents and
placing them in foster care.'' Texas Supreme Court, majority decision
by justices Wallace B. Jefferson; Nathan L. Hecht; Dale Wainwright;
Scott Brister; David Medina; Paul W. Green.
''As to this endangered population, I do not agree with the Court that
the trial court abused its discretion in allowing the department to
retain temporary conservatorship until such time as a permanency plan
designed to ensure each girl's physical health and safety could be
approved. On this record, however, I agree that there was no evidence
of imminent 'danger to the physical health or safety' of boys and
pre-pubescent girls to justify their removal from the YFZ Ranch, and
to this extent I join the Court's opinion.'' Texas Supreme Court,
concurring in part and dissenting in part by justices Harriet O'Neill;
Phil Johnson; Don R. Willett.
''It is time for the children to come home. It is time for the state
of Texas to lay down arms.'' Rod Parker, a Salt Lake City attorney
and spokesman for the FLDS.
''These people and little children will spend their entire life trying
to understand what they've been through.'' Willie Jessop, FLDS member
and spokesman for the group.
''We're going to wait for an exit plan so the children don't get too
hyped up and become unmanageable.'' David Miller, president of
Hendrick Home in Abilene.
''We are disappointed, but we understand and respect the court's
decision and will take immediate steps to comply. Child Protective
Services has one purpose in this case — to protect the children. Our
goal is to reunite families whenever we can do so and make sure the
children will be safe. We will continue to prepare for the prompt and
orderly reunification of these children with their families. We also
will work with the district court to ensure the safety of the children
and that all of our actions conform with the decision of the Texas
Supreme Court.'' Marleigh Meisner, spokeswoman, Texas Department of
Family and Protective Services.
''If anything good can come out of all the suffering endured by these
400+ children, it is that maybe the rest of the country got a wake-up
call. Texas CPS kept saying it themselves: All this was standard
operating procedure, it's how we treat all families. And in that
respect, almost every state is Texas. Aside from the sheer size of
the endeavor, and those first days at CPS' kiddie-Guantanamo, nothing
happened to these families that doesn't happen to hundreds of
thousands of families every year. (And, in fact, even the interning
of children in ''shelters'' in the first days after placement is not
unusual). But the families to whom this normally happens are
overwhelmingly poor and disproportionately minority. They rarely have
good legal representation. And everything happens in secret. So
nobody knows about it, and we can pretend it doesn’t happen. Maybe
this case has stripped away the pretense and shown the nation how most
CPS agencies work most of the time. Maybe people will start to
question what’s going on in the other 49 states, and demand real
change.'' Richard Wexler, executive director, National Coalition for
Child Protection Reform, Virginia.
''We are all very, very happy with the ruling. It vindicates what
we've said form beginning, that these children should never have been
taken from their homes and families and kept from their families for
such a long time. We can only hope these children can go home soon and
start learning to feel safe again. Also, after the extreme harm that
has been done to these children and their families we hope that the
Department of Family and Protective Services will use extreme care
when interacting with these families in the future to prevent further
harm.'' Rene Haas, an attorney in Corpus Christi who represented
Joseph and Lori Jessop, a monogamous couple and parents of three
children.
''This is a huge victory for parents and parent advocates. I am so
excited. This is really going to help us argue for prevention programs
because if they had been in place the department might have felt it
had more options.'' Johana Scot, director, Parent Guidance Center in
Austin.
''I just feel very thankful that the Supreme Court would have a
righteous decision. . . . I am just very thankful to the highest
power. I know he's decided that the children have been tested
enough.'' Maggie Jessop, whose four children are in state custody,
two in Amarillo and two in San Antonio.
''My attorney called and said 'It looks like we won.' She was pretty
excited. So was I.'' Joseph Jessop, who was allowed to temporarily
join his wife and three children in San Antonio pending the Supreme
Court decision.
''I heard him talking on the phone and I could see something exciting
was happening. I was pestering him, 'Who is it, what is happening?'
And then my phone rang and it was my attorney. She said it looks like
we might be going home. I was ready to go right now. I was jumping up
and down. Some of the mothers who were there said they wanted to go to
the shelters where their children are and stand out by the gate with
their arms held out and wait. . . . I told our 4-year-old. She just
smiled big. All she knows is she is back with her mother. What the
Supreme Court rules doesn't mean anything to her as long as she has
her mother.'' Lori Jessop, Joseph's wife and mother of three
children.
Jewish Daily Forward
http://www.forward.com/articles/13462/
Even the Scary and the Weird Have Rights
Only Human
By Kathleen Peratis
Thu. May 29, 2008
This is not the column I expected to write this week.
I expected to cluck-cluck about the shameful, officially sanctioned kidnapping of the more than 450 children from the compound of the Fundamentalist LDS church in El Dorado, Texas, and to compare the deprivation of their rights to Guantanamo Bay.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/us/29polygamy.html
NYTimes Sect Mothers Say Separation Endangers Children By LESLIE
KAUFMAN and DAN FROSCH; GRETEL C. KOVACH CONTRIBUTED REPORTING.
Mothers of children who were taken in the raid on a polygamist ranch
in Texas have started speaking out more forcefully about the effects
of separation on their children. May 29, 2008 MORE ON YEARNING
------------------------------------------------------------------------
date: 5/30/08 High Court: "Removal of the children was not warranted,"
May 30 notes:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-05-29-sect_N.htm
Texas high court upholds custody ruling in sect case
Updated 5/30/2008 2:01 PM | Comments348 | Recommend38 E-mail | Save | Print | Reprints & Permissions |
By Wendy Koch, USA TODAY The parents of more than 400 children seized
from a polygamist sect's ranch are waiting for a final court order to
let them take their children home after a ruling Thursday by the Texas
Supreme Court. "Removal of the children was not warranted," the court
ruled in a 6-3 decision affirming an appeals court ruling last week
that found Texas had insufficient evidence of "immediate" danger of
child sex abuse to take custody of all the children. The Texas
Department of Family and Protective Services "failed to meet its
burden of proof," the state Supreme Court said.
http://www.newser.com/tag/29657/1/barbara-walther.html
Sect Kids Aren't Going Home
San Antonio Express-News | May 30, 08 9:51 PM CDT
(Newser) - The parents of children taken from a polygamist ranch in
Texas will not see their kids on Monday after all. At the last minute,
a lawyer objected to the state's deal with the sect and stopped the
judge from ordering the children's release. Now the judge plans to get
them home by canceling the original order to raid the sect, the San
Antonio Express-News reports.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
date: 5/31/08 Judge wants to modify deal to return the children
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/31/us/31raid.html
Deal to Return Children to Sect Breaks Down By GRETEL C. KOVACH and
KIRK JOHNSON; GRETEL C. KOVACH REPORTED FROM SAN ANGELO, and KIRK
JOHNSON FROM DENVER. Negotiations for the release of more than 460
children who were removed from a polygamist sect in April broke down
in a scene of chaos and bitterness. May 31, 2008
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,360268,00.html Judge Stalls Deal
Between Texas, Polygamist Sect to Return Children Saturday, May 31,
2008 .. must personally sign an agreement their attorneys and state
child-welfare officials have proposed. "It's not as simple as going
across the street and setting up a booth," said attorney Andrea Sloan,
who represents several young FLDS women and minors who contend they
should be reclassified as adults. Walther had wanted to add
restrictions... The judge then said she would sign the initial
document, but only after all 38 mothers involved in the case the high
court ruled on signed it first.
Walther wanted to remove the August deadline and provide for
psychological evaluations of the children. She also wanted it
specified that parents can't travel more than 60 miles from their
residence without 48 hours' notice. She also wanted CPS to have access
to the ranch and the children at all times necessary for any
investigation.
--------------------------------------------------------------
date: 6/1/08
Raid on Polygamist Ranch Was Doomed to Fail, Critics Say By Michelle
Roberts Associated Press Sunday, June 1, 2008; Page A05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/31/AR2008053101863.html
one of the of the largest custody cases in U.S. history is unraveling,
and some are looking for what went wrong when the state raided the
Yearning for Zion Ranch and removed more than 400 children
The Truth About Flora Jessop
2008-06-01 20:20:17
http://www.truthwillprevail.org/index.php?parentid=1&index=45
----------------------------------------------------------------
date: 6/5/08
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/05/america/06polygamy.php Life
disrupted at Texas polygamist ranch By Gretel C. Kovach Published:
June 5, 2008 ELDORADO, Texas: The cows still get milked each day by
machine here at the Yearning for Zion ranch, although the raw-milk
cheese is stacking up uneaten. The onions in the garden are as big as
grapefruits, ready for harvest, with few to pick them. Just a handful
of families have returned to the ranch, the home of a polygamist sect
that was raided in West Texas in April
In the schoolhouse, all the calendars are stuck on April. The
chalkboard bears a handwritten date — April 3, 2008
"The governor is troubled that the children, especially those most at
risk for abuse, the young girls, are being sent back to the compound
in a situation riddled with uncertainty and the potential for harm,
while it remains at the center of a very serious criminal
investigation," said Krista Piferrer, a spokeswoman for Governor Rick
Perry
date: 6/6/08
A Sect’s Families Reunite, and Start to Come Home By GRETEL C. KOVACH
Just a handful of families have returned to the Yearning for Zion
ranch, the home of a polygamist sect that was raided in West Texas in
April in an investigation of possible sexual abuse. NYTimes June 6,
2008 MORE ON YEARNING FOR ZION RANCH AND: FUNDAMENTALIST CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS, POLYGAMY, TEXAS
date: 6/12/08
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article4164416.ece
June 22, 2008
Yearning for Zion: What next for the polygamists? Girls, believed to
be the victims of paedophilia at the hands of a religious sect in
Texas, were rescued in April. So why are they now back with their
alleged abusers? Bryan Appleyard
date: 6/13/08
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article4164416.ece
June 22, 2008 Yearning for Zion: What next for the polygamists?
Girls, believed to be the victims of paedophilia at the hands of a
religious sect in Texas, were rescued in April. So why are they now
back with their alleged abusers? Bryan Appleyard Judge Walther resists
the move to return the children involved in the appeal. She won’t sign
the papers. She wants to add restrictions to the parents’ movements. I
would guess she is playing for time. DNA tests on all the families
were to be completed soon. They will establish paternity and
maternity, incest and maybe child abuse. They may disentangle the
complex and concealed familial relationships on the ranch. They could
lead to criminal charges that could put the civil case in an entirely
different light. But, finally, Walther succumbs, the children are
returned, though they can’t leave the state and a watch will be kept
on the families
http://www.newswithviews.com/Devvy/kidd368.htm FLDS RAID AND THE NAFTA
SUPER HIGHWAY By: Devvy June 13, 2008 © 2008 - NewsWithViews.com Is
this 1700 acre ranch in the path of the NAFTA Super highway to Hell? I
received an email dated April 16, 2008, which raised my radar: As the
legal battles continue to play out, and I hope some of these Americans
sue the pants off the State of Texas, one has to ask the question: Why
in April, 2008? Based on a phone call from someone they haven't even
verified exists to this day? Remember WACO? Only a few days before the
initial gassing and burning of almost 100 human beings by the feds,
David Koresch was in town. He could have been picked up at any time.
Instead, we had the ATF pull off one of the most deadly and stupid
jock raids this country has ever seen - for NO legitimate reason:
date: 6/14/08
Sealed agreement reached on dispute over FLDS infant
By PAUL ANTHONY panthony@gosanangelo.com or 659-8237
Originally published 04:06 p.m., November 25, 2008
Updated 06:46 p.m., November 25, 2008
http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2008/nov/25/breaking-news-flds-teen-mom-defies-judge/
The girl gave birth to her child June 14, just 10 days after CPS
returned the last of 439 children taken from the YFZ Ranch northeast
of Eldorado in April to their parents
date: 8/19/08
'I stand on Fifth,' FLDS mom tells court in custody battle CPS wants
judge to put 7 children in foster care By Ben Winslow Deseret News
Published: August 19, 2008 SAN ANGELO, Texas — To nearly every
question she was asked, Barbara Jessop gave the same answer: "I stand
on the Fifth."
As a surprise witness, CPS lawyers called Merril Jessop's ex-wife
Carolyn Jessop to the witness stand.
In dramatic testimony, the best-selling author described her marriage
and accused both Merril and Barbara Jessop of abusing her children.
"I was involved with the FLDS for 35 years," she said. "I am able to
protect my children. Most, I believe, are in a safe place now."
She described her former "sister-wife" Barbara Jessop beating one of
Barbara Jessop's children with a broom as the family sang a hymn,
"Love At Home," during a Sunday school session.
Carolyn Jessop left the FLDS Church about five years ago, taking her
eight kids with her. She chronicled it in her memoir, "Escape."
Under cross-examination, she acknowledged that her 19-year-old
daughter, Betty, returned to the FLDS Church. She also acknowledged
she saw Barbara Jessop do things that would be considered "good
parenting."
Rios suggested Carolyn Jessop was testifying for publicity and money.
She acknowledged she was paid nearly $250,000 for her book but said
that she has not worked since she left the FLDS Church and has been
the sole provider for her children, including one who is handicapped.
Some of the incidents Carolyn Jessop described happened as far back as
20 years ago, Rios said.
"Have you ever hit your children?" he asked her.
"A few times before I left (the FLDS)," she replied. "I didn't like
hitting. After I left, there's never been an episode."
Apparently stunned by the testimony, FLDS member Willie Jessop
escorted Betty Jessop into the courthouse as the afternoon session
began. She is expected to testify today.
...Rios successfully got photos of FLDS leader Warren Jeffs kissing
underage girls kept out of his case, but Child Protective Services
introduced records that detailed at least nine marriages involving
underage girls to older men ... Gutierrez acknowledged that the
11-year-old boy has shown *** no signs of abuse *** but said his
sister being married to Jeffs at age 12 no doubt had an effect on him.
She testified that two of Jessop's adult sons took underage brides,
and three daughters were married underage
Gutierrez said she had concerns about Jessop's disciplinary behavior,
the children's education and financial well-being, and she sought to
have a DNA test for Merril Jessop.
"I can't go back and undo the 12-year-old marriage," [walther] said.
date: 8/20/08
Swinton may testify against FLDS GO SanAngelo News ^ | August 20, 2008
| ? Associated Press Reporter Posted on Friday, August 22, 2008
7:47:30 PM by UCANSEE2 DENVER - A Colorado Springs woman considered a
person of interest in an investigation of phone calls that may have
sparked a raid on a Texas polygamist group is on a list of possible
witnesses to testify against the sect. An Oct. 1 hearing is scheduled
challenging the search warrant on the sect. (Excerpt) Read more at
gosanangelo.com ...
date: 8/6/08
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfthx7q4_1187fv3jkkfq
This is Google's cache of
http://newsfeedresearcher.com/data/articles_n32/idn2008.08.06.04.17.54.html.
CONTENTS:
Today, CPS asked 51st District Judge Marilyn Aboussie to end the cases
of 32 children "where there is no evidence of underage marriages in
the family." (More...)
One of the subjects of Tuesday's requests is the 14-year-old girl
whose alleged marriage to sect leader Warren Jeffs at age 12 produced
the now-infamous photograph of an open-mouth kiss between the two.
(More...)
The court said evidence showed no more than a handful of girls were
abused or were at risk of abuse. (More...)
The parents of the girl, who was 12 at the time, consented to the
ceremony, according to the affidavit. (More...)
Photos from a Web site launched by the polygamous sect FLDS show
authorities raiding its Texas ranch. (More...)
Mom of Jeffs' alleged teen wife decries separation
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_10273216
By Brooke Adams
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 08/22/2008 10:22:34 AM MDT
Click photo to enlarge
Millie Jessop, 26, listens as her mother, Barbara Jessop,... (Brooke Adams/The Salt Lake Tribune)
" "
" 1
" 2
" "
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - When an FLDS mother called to tell her 14-year-old daughter a judge had ordered her back into state custody, the girl cried steadily for seven hours.
"Just me? Only me?" she asked her mother before dissolving into tears.
Barbara Jessop is breaking her silence to describe the traumatic Tuesday separation from her daughter. The teen - allegedly married to sect leader Warren S. Jeffs in 2006 - is the only FLDS child now in state care.
A videotape of her transfer in a state building parking lot shows the girl crying and holding her mother as Child Protective Services workers stand nearby.
Her family has become a focal point of child welfare and criminal investigations stemming from the spring raid on the Yearning For Zion Ranch, home to members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Two older brothers were among six FLDS men, including Jeffs, indicted last month on sexual assault and other charges.
%%date 5/31/08 May 1, 2008
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_9439383
HOLLYWOOD COMEDY LOOKING FOR FLDS DRESSES
Calling Wardrobe
FLDS mothers have been driving all over Texas to visit their children. Unlike CPS workers, they do not have a state employer to fall back on to reimburse their expenses.
But here is an idea.
A movie company in Santa Monica, Calif., left a voicemail on my office
phone that said it had been looking all over for a wardrobe that
reflects the FLDS lifestyle. Who makes their clothing, the caller
asked. Where could he get it?
Umm, the women do.
I know the community includes excellent seamstresses.
Given all the attention on the FLDS and all the movies in the making
(Elissa Wall's book is being made into a movie, for one thing, and Big
Love's third season is supposed to debut in June) the people might as
well make money off the deal themselves.
I would be happy to provide the telephone number to anyone who wants
it. Just email me.
Then again, the mothers might want to stay clear. The name of the
movie company? National Banana.
Here is a blurb about the company:
''National Banana is a comedy-video site that wants to bring a new
comedy community to the Internet. The site is focusing on short
episodes and clips that can be easily shared and imbedded into other
sites and blogs. Hollywood film producer Jerry Zucker known for his
comedy movies Airplane! and Naked Gun is producing the content on
National Banana. The site is in beta mode and maintains a very simple
video-only interface.'' 9:51 PM | 2 comments
%%date 6/25/08
http://iperceive.net/texas-flds-ad-litem-expect-pissed-off-flds-teens-sassing-the-judge/
Texas FLDS ad litem: Expect pissed off FLDS teens sassing the judge by
Kurt Schulzke This morning I spoke by phone with an attorney ad litem
(AAL) who represents several FLDS children in their ongoing dispute
with Texas CPS. I’ll call her Millie — not because she’s unwilling to
go on the record but because I think it’s good for the country to keep
CPS guessing. Millie, an attorney with considerable experience in
child protection cases, read my op-ed in last Thursday’s San Angelo
Standard-Times and contacted me to say “thanks.” A lengthy
conversation ensued.
SUCH GOOD MOMS THEY CRIED Millie says she was awestruck by how much
the mothers knew about their kids, their level of organization, and
how well they addressed each child’s needs. They were so good that
during one visit, the CASA next to Millie “bawled” through the entire
visit at the injustice of putting such good parents and kids through
such abuse. She could hardly bear to watch it.
%%date: 9/5/08
AP: Texas drops half of cases in polygamist sect raid
By MICHELLE ROBERTS
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iIdMpRHjN4hpNKBhfYyAsR4DDo4QD9304KG02
Child by child, Texas authorities are acknowledging that many of the
children seized during a raid on a polygamist sect's ranch can safely
live with their parents or guardians. ... They're being dropped "as
fast as we can because it's a burden on everyone," he said.
Crimmins said the agency never intended to take the FLDS children from
their parents permanently. "We never brought the kids into care to
keep them in care. We brought them into care to do an efficient and
effective investigation," he said. (Compare this to Voss's conclusion
that the state must keep the kids permanently)
http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/discovering_eldorado/print/
Discovering Eldorado
In a massive clash between church and state, a band of Texas lawyers learns that individual stories still count
October 2008 Issue
By Stephanie Francis Ward
When Susan L. Hays took an attorney ad litem assignment for one of the many Texas custody cases of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, she never imagined her client would be 2 years old.
“I thought I was going to get a pregnant teenager and her creepy 50-year-old husband,” says Hays, a Dallas sole practitioner who co-founded Jane’s Due Process, a Texas group that helps teenagers obtain legal abortions without parental consent.
%%date: 10/1/08
http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/discovering_eldorado/print/
Discovering Eldorado In a massive clash between church and state, a
band of Texas lawyers learns that individual stories still count
October 2008 Issue By Stephanie Francis Ward When Susan L. Hays took
an attorney ad litem assignment for one of the many Texas custody
cases of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints, she never imagined her client would be 2 years old. “I
thought I was going to get a pregnant teenager and her creepy
50-year-old husband,” says Hays, a Dallas sole practitioner who
co-founded Jane’s Due Process, a Texas group that helps teenagers
obtain legal abortions without parental consent.
Hays and other attorneys ad litem believe the state trampled on the
rights of FLDS members in a variety of ways. But many—including some
who advocated for reunification—are not completely confident their
clients will be safe in the long run.
Hays’ client is 2 years old. The mother is related by marriage to
Merrill Jessop, now believed to be in charge of the Eldorado compound.
Hays has spent much time talking to the child’s mother. “That was
helpful to me because I learned a lot about how she thinks and it made
me comfortable with her as a mother, no matter what weirdness goes on
with the FLDS,” Hays says.
In June, Hays said she was confident her client’s mother was a good
parent, but she didn’t know what information the government had about
the child’s stepfather. He was later indicted and charged with bigamy
and sexual assault related to his alleged marriage with a teenager.
Despite the stepfather’s arrest, Hays’ client was nonsuited in
September, as were many other FLDS children. Hays says she’s happy
with the court’s decision and will stay in touch with the family.
%%date: 10/02/08
FLDS mom seeks sanctions against agency in Texas By Ben Winslow
Deseret News Published: Thursday, Oct. 2, 2008 12:24 a.m. MDT
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700263418,00.html
SAN ANGELO, Texas — The mother of a 2-year-old girl taken in the raid
on the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch is seeking sanctions
against the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services for
what she calls the agency's "wrongful misconduct" in the nation's
largest child custody case.
"At all relevant times prior to the filing of this lawsuit, DFPS was
not aware of any facts and did not have any facts within its knowledge
which indicated, in the slightest degree, that (Naomi Johnson) had
perpetrated or had allowed anyone else to perpetrate any physical or
emotional abuse towards the child," Johnson's attorney, Robert Gibson
Jr., wrote in court papers filed here.
date: 10/24/08
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6076865.html Woman
linked to calls in FLDS raid to enter treatment Associated Press Oct.
24, 2008, 4:59PM CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — A woman linked to phone calls
that may have triggered a raid on a Texas polygamist group is entering
an inpatient treatment program after pleading "not guilty, mental
condition impaired" in an unrelated case. A court filing says Rozita
Swinton will enter the program next month, but no details have been
released on the location or nature of the treatment.
date: 10/29/08
TEXAS OFFICERS DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT RAID
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jDCqCmFPcSUkTXxaPC6InKcvgYBwD943SO4O0
Judge lets Jeffs' attorneys talk to Texas officers
1 day ago
KINGMAN, Ariz. (AP) — The judge overseeing the Arizona trial of
polygamist leader Warren Jeffs ruled Tuesday that his defense
attorneys can interview Texas law officers about their raid on a
sect-owned ranch.... interviewing the Texas authorities
could hurt their cases.
The judge granted a defense motion that allows Jeffs' attorneys to
interview three Texas officials: Schleicher County Sheriff David
Doran, Deputy Sheriff John Connor and Texas Ranger Brooks Long.
"If the Texas law enforcement officials have nothing to hide, they
should have no objection to being interviewed or deposed," Conn wrote
in his ruling....
"We have wanted for months to interview these people because we think
we're going to expose one of the greatest constitutional violations in
recent history," he said. "We became even more concerned with what
they had to hide when they wouldn't talk to us."
date: 10/30/08
Oct 30, 2008 10:00 pm US/Central
CBS 11 News Goes Inside The FLDS West Texas Ranch
Reporting Jack Fink
http://cbs11tv.com/local/polygamy.polygamist.FLDS.2.852956.html
[gd flds notes october 30, 2008]
FORT WORTH (CBS 11 News) ? CBS 11 News is the first television station
to return to the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints (FLDS) ranch in West
Texas since children, taken from their parents six months ago, were
returned.
According to Barlow, CPS has left small children emotionally scarred.
"It's amazing to have 4-year-old to 6-year-old girls scared of CPS,"
he said. Fink wanted further explanation and asked, "When you say
scared, what do you mean?" "Run to their bedrooms... close the
windows... shut the blinds..." Barlow explained.
Susan Hays is a Dallas attorney ad litem and represents a two-year-old girl on the ranch. Hays' says she has seen children act out. "Younger children who've regressed to wetting their beds. Toddlers who've regressed to wanting to breast feed, when they've already been weaned," Hays said. "They pulled off the raid very well, but they didn't pull off the cleanup well at all."
date: 11/21/2008
http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2008/nov/21/teen-sect-girl-her-baby-sought-for-gene-testing/
Teen sect girl, her baby sought for gene testing By Paul A. Anthony
Friday, November 21, 2008 A girl alleged to have been married to an
adult at age 14 has become the new focus of the state's investigation
into allegations of sexual abuse at a Schleicher County polygamist
compound.
According to the motion filed Nov. 14 by CPS' new lead attorney for
the case, John R. Dolezal, the girl is still younger than 18 and was
married at 14.The girl "has a child," Dolezal said in court Thursday.
"In order for us to do our duties investigating sexual abuse, we need
the child produced to do genetic testing. We're here in the best
interests of (the girl), to protect her from sexual abuse." Ellis
noted the girl's mother has agreed to a CPS service plan that
prohibits the girl from contacting the father of her child
date: 11/24/2008
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705265646,00.html
FLDS leaders surrender to face charges in Texas
By Ben Winslow
Deseret News
Published: November 24, 2008
The leader of the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch has
surrendered to authorities in rural Texas after being indicted by a
grand jury.
Fredrick Merril Jessop, 72, and other indicted FLDS members
surrendered on Monday at the Schleicher County Sheriff's Office in the
company of Texas Rangers and their attorneys. Jessop was indicted
earlier this month on a charge of conducting an unlawful marriage
ceremony involving a minor, a third-degree felony.
Wendell Loy Nielsen, 68, surrendered to face three charges of bigamy,
a third-degree felony.
Leroy Johnson Steed, 42, surrendered on a charge of sexual assault of
a child, a first-degree felony; bigamy, and tampering with physical
evidence, a third-degree felony. Steed was arrested on the evidence
tampering charge in the early days of the raid, but only recently
indicted.
All three men were released after posting bond, the sheriff's office
said. Nielsen and Jessop each posted $30,000; Steed posted $120,000.
"Today's arrests reflect a nearly two-week-long effort by the Texas
Rangers and the Texas Attorney General's Office to arrange for the
defendants' arrests," Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said in a
statement Monday.
"It's just a desperate attempt from the state officials to justify
carrying out this massive raid based on Rozita Swinton's hoax phone
call," he said
http://www.sltrib.com/polygamy/ci_11064554
Attorney stymied by anti-polygamy activist's TV demand By Brooke Adams
The Salt Lake Tribune 11/24/2008 An Arizona
attorney plans to seek a court order to require an anti-polygamy
activist to answer questions after she refused to cooperate Monday
unless a television crew was allowed to tape the meeting. Flora
Jessop had agreed to a voluntary interview with attorney Michael
Piccarreta, who represents polygamous sect leader Warren S. Jeffs.
Piccarreta had asked Jessop to bring recordings of her conversations
with a caller who used a phone linked to Rozita Swinton, a Colorado
woman
http://www.sltrib.com/polygamy/ci_11064868
FLDS teen won't let Texas officials see her baby
(She reportedly is afraid the state will take her and her child into state custody.)
By Brooke Adams
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated:11/24/2008 06:12:17 PM MST
On Thursday, 51st District Judge Barbara Walther ordered the
17-year-old girl, her baby and the girl's mother to appear in court
after the Department of Family and Protective Services said the
teenager refused to let it see the infant.
In a court filing, the department said it wants to conduct an
"inspection, observation and genetic testing" of the infant to
"protect the safety and welfare" of the teenage mother
authorities... "cause to believe" the girl was married at age 14 to an
adult man. She gave birth in San Antonio on June 14, two months
before her 17th birthday and two weeks after a Texas Supreme Court
ruling returned FLDS children to their parents
date: 11/25/2008
Sealed agreement reached on dispute over FLDS infant
By PAUL ANTHONY panthony@gosanangelo.com or 659-8237
Originally published 04:06 p.m., November 25, 2008
Updated 06:46 p.m., November 25, 2008
http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2008/nov/25/breaking-news-flds-teen-mom-defies-judge/
Attorneys reached an agreement Tuesday over a teen girl's refusal to
divulge the whereabouts of her 5-month-old baby to the state's Child
Protective Services agency.
The agreement, which is under seal, headed off what could have been a
messy conflict between the girl, a member of the Fundamentalist Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and 51st District Judge Barbara
Walther, who had ordered her to answer questions about the location of
her child.
The girl's refusal to divulge the whereabouts of her infant set in
motion a chain of events in which Walther essentially forced the
attorneys to reach an agreement to avoid a scenario in which the girl
could have been jailed for contempt of court
date: 12/6/2008
http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2008/nov/26/sealed-agreement-reached-on-dispute-over-flds/
Sealed agreement reached on dispute over FLDS infant
By Paul A. Anthony (Contact)
Originally published 12:00 a.m., November 26, 2008
Updated 05:46 p.m., December 1, 2008
Attorneys reached an agreement Tuesday over a teen girl's refusal to divulge the whereabouts of her 5-month-old baby to the state's Child Protective Services agency.
The agreement, which is under seal, headed off what could have been a messy conflict between the girl, a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and 51st District Judge Barbara Walther, who had ordered her to answer questions about the location of her child.
"There was an agreement reached," CPS spokesman Patrick Crimmins said, "but on the direction of the judge, we can't talk about it."
The girl's refusal to divulge the whereabouts of her infant set in motion a chain of events in which Walther essentially forced the attorneys to reach an agreement to avoid a scenario in which the girl could have been jailed for contempt of court.
Walther unexpectedly left the Tom Green County Courthouse while the sides were negotiating, surprising observers and attorneys alike, telling an attorney on her way out of the building, "I trust you'll get it resolved."
Just after 5 p.m., CPS attorneys left the courthouse, followed soon after by attorneys for the girl and her mother.
All attorneys declined to comment.
"I really can't say anything," said Kelly J. Ellis, the girl's attorney.
The hearing had been delayed from last week after the girl did not appear in court.
Walther ordered the girl to bring her child to court Tuesday for the hearing, which was to decide whether the state should be allowed to observe the girl's interaction with the baby and do a DNA test.
The girl showed up; her infant did not.
"The baby is not here, so they have defied the court's order," CPS attorney John Dolezal told the judge, asking to put the 17-year-old on the stand to testify about where the infant was.
The girl initially pleaded the Fifth Amendment when asked whether the baby stayed with her at her given address in San Antonio.
But after consultation with Ellis, she answered that the child at one time did stay with her at that location but was not there anymore.
The girl told Dolezal the baby is out of state.
"I don't know right now" the exact whereabouts of the child, she said. "She is traveling."
When Dolezal asked where the infant was being taken, the girl shut down.
"I refuse to answer that question," she said, and when pressed on why she refused, she said: "I just don't want anyone to know where she is."
Ellis then consulted with the girl again.
The attorney quietly told Walther the girl knew the potential repercussions of refusing to answer a question when instructed to by the court.
"Ma'am, the court instructs you to answer the question," Walther said.
"I refuse to answer," the girl replied.
Walther recessed the court and called the attorneys into her chambers, where - as she has been known to do, especially during this case - she tersely ordered both sides to reach an agreement.
Soon after, she left the courthouse.
The girl gave birth to her child June 14, just 10 days after CPS returned the last of 439 children taken from the YFZ Ranch northeast of Eldorado in April to their parents.
CPS had alleged a pervasive pattern of sexual abuse and forced "marriages" among members of the sect, which still practices a form of polygamy intended to be acceptable to society. Walther ruled in favor of CPS. Higher courts overruled Walther, requiring the children's return.
A CPS motion filed this month alleged the girl was married to an older man at age 14.
In a hearing last week, Dolezal told Walther that CPS had received no cooperation from the girl or her mother when making unannounced visits to the given location.
The girl testified Tuesday that while she lives at the address, she spends more than half her time visiting with friends and often does not spend the night there.
After the sides reached the agreement, Texas Ranger Sgt. Nick Hanna and an investigator from the Texas Attorney General's Office told the girl they needed to serve a search warrant, immediately after which courthouse security cleared the building, telling reporters and observers it was closed.
The warrant was for a DNA sample, said sect spokesman Willie Jessop - a move Jessop criticized, noting that samples were taken of all children by court order in April.
The girl's defiance is CPS' own fault, Jessop said, adding that the girl is afraid CPS will take custody of her baby while the child is in San Angelo and accuse her of abuse or neglect.
"There's been an absolutely tremendous breakdown of trust," Jessop said.
"That's what her belief was. Who could change her mind?"
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7013189209
Polygamist Sect's Teen Mom, CPS Settle Court Impasse Over Baby's DNA Test
November 26, 2008 12:02 a.m. EST
AHN Staff
San Angelo, TX (AHN) - A teen mother from a polygamist sect and the Child Protective Services (CPS) seeking a DNA test of her baby settled their court impasse Tuesday with an undisclosed agreement. The secret compromise was reached on the order of Texas District Judge Barbara Walther Judge after the unnamed 17-year-old member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) refused to divulge the location of her five-month-old baby to the court.
The CPS has accused the FLDS of marrying off children to adult members of the sect at the Yearning For Zion ranch in Eldorado. A DNA test of the teen mother's baby will determine the child's father and bolster CPS's charge that she was married to an FLDS man when she was 14.Under Texas law, sex with a minor has no consent and is illegal.
The girl was among 438 children the CPS removed from the FLDS ranch in April on suspicion they were being sexually abused. The CPS took custody of the children but returned most of them to their parents in June in compliance with the order of Texas Supreme Court, which ruled the children's seizure and referral to foster care as illegal.
Twelve men from the FLDS are facing underage marriages and bigamy charges. The breakaway group of the Mormon church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, practices polygamy, which the latter had renounced more than 100 years ago.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/11/26/Agreement_reached_on_polygamist_baby/UPI-60811227679240/
Agreement reached on polygamist baby
Nov. 26, 2008 at 1:00 AM
SAN ANGELO, Texas, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Lawyers for Texas child welfare officials and a 17-year-old mother from a polygamist sect reached an agreement Tuesday on revealing the location of her baby.
The details of the agreement were sealed, the San Angelo Standard Times reported. But the settlement apparently saves the teenager from being held in contempt of court.
Judge Barbara Walther, who was reversed after she upheld the right of Texas Child Protective Services to seize children from a fundamentalist Mormon compound, had ordered the girl to produce the infant. She showed up in court Tuesday but without the child and said the baby was out of state and she was not sure where.
CPS officials say that the girl was married at the age of 14 to an older member of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints -- a marriage that would have been illegal. The infant was born not long after the children were returned to the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Texas.
Willie Jessop, a lawyer for the sect, said that officials are to blame for the girl's stubbornness, because she fears that both she and her child will be put in foster care.
http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2008/nov/26/flds-custody-case-has-cost-texas-12-million/
FLDS custody case has cost Texas $12 million
By Paul A. Anthony (Contact)
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Texas has spent at least $12.7 million on the nation's largest child-custody case - including more than $9 million to house 439 children and dozens of women for more than two weeks at the San Angelo Coliseum - and is likely to spend much more.
The costs, incurred over the nearly eight months since an April raid on the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' compound in Schleicher County, include nearly $900,000 in reimbursements to local entities - the vast majority of which has been paid to the city of San Angelo.
"The bulk of it is employee time," said city Chief Accountant Bill Smith, who managed the city's contact with the state, which paid the city more than $700,000 - including $40,000 each for use of Fort Concho National Historic Landmark and the coliseum.
According to state numbers, San Angelo received far and away the most money, while Tom Green County received nearly $100,000 and Schleicher County was reimbursed for roughly $80,000 in expenses. The city of Eldorado also received $2,000.
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services released last week a breakdown of costs incurred between April 3 and June 4 on the FLDS case, placing them at $12.4 million.
That figure represents only the costs relating to the removal and care of the FLDS children, however, and does not consider the costs of ongoing civil and criminal litigation that has arisen from the case, said department spokesman Patrick Crimmins.
"We've obviously got ongoing costs," Crimmins said, adding that the breakdown covers "everything to do with the removal, the transportation, the shelter and the foster placement of the children" between opening of the raid and the return of the children to their parents.
Interviews with local officials, however, reveal additional expenses that the state already has paid or is in the process of paying.
The state is funding a grant that continues to reimburse Schleicher and Tom Green County court costs for ongoing hearings in the Child Protective Services investigation.
While Tom Green County says it has received more than $85,000 in reimbursements from the state, another $83,000 has been awarded through the grant to pay for an additional court administrator whose sole job is to coordinate the massive amount of FLDS-related paperwork for 51st District Judge Barbara Walther, according to figures provided by Tom Green County Auditor Nathan Cradduck.
The grant also is paying nearly $60,000 for ongoing costs incurred by Schleicher County, said Treasurer Karen Henderson.
Likewise, the state has paid attorney fees totaling nearly $117,000, Henderson said, and an order by Walther this month has authorized the hundreds of attorneys appointed to represent children in the case to seek reimbursement by filing with Henderson's office.
Henderson said she forwards the requests to the state, which sends her the money that she pays the attorneys. Thus far, she said, only three attorneys have requested payment.
"I haven't gotten a whole lot yet," she said. "I feel sure there's going to be quite a bit more."
Walther's order allows attorneys to recover up to $750 for each day they were in San Angelo representing a client during the initial April 17-18 custody hearing, $500 for appearing in court to represent a client during the mid-May 60-day hearings, and $500 for appearing in court to represent a client in any other hearing.
The order also allows a maximum hourly rate of $100, with the exact compensation to be set by Walther depending on the attorney's experience and the complexity of the particular case. Attorneys can collect no more than $4,000 in fees, meaning overall attorney costs could easily surpass $500,000.
Coordinating attorneys, who were responsible for assigning cases to and managing the needs of the hundreds of lawyers coming from across the state, are not subject to those restrictions.
Adding the grants and attorney fees that already have been paid to the DFPS report, the state has actually spent $12.66 million on the civil side of the case alone, with more likely to follow.
The DFPS data, released initially at the request of the Salt Lake City-based Deseret News, also does not include the cost of DNA testing conducted on all 439 children and hundreds of adults or the costs incurred by the state Attorney General's Office in prosecuting the criminal side of the case.
According to the state data, it spent more than $2.5 million on overtime costs for DFPS employees in the opening months of the case and nearly $1.5 million on travel for the department's staff.
More than $1 million was spent on the buses that took the children from the YFZ Ranch to San Angelo and from San Angelo to the homes where they stayed until a pair of appellate courts ordered the children released to their parents.
The state also spent nearly $1 million on shelter and food for its employees at its unified command center.
Although the case largely has calmed after the Texas Supreme Court ordered the children's return, state money has continued to flow to the area.
The last check to the city of San Angelo came Oct. 10, Smith said - a $6,174.03 reimbursement the city paid to San Angelo Host, which had already purchased food for an event scheduled at the coliseum the weekend the state requested the use of its facilities.
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705266155,00.html
FLDS trust settlement talks begin
Talks aim to resolve battle over church's real estate arm
By Ben Winslow
Deseret News
November 28, 2008
Lawyers for Fundamentalist LDS Church members, the Utah Attorney General's Office and the court-controlled United Effort Plan Trust have begun settlement talks.
Attorneys met Wednesday in Salt Lake City to begin a dialogue over how to resolve the ongoing legal war over the FLDS Church's real estate arm, which is now under court control.
"There seems to be a sense of trying to reach the same goal and that is to try to limit the legal costs so that properties are protected and there are assets left to be used by the people who created it," Utah Attorney General's spokesman Paul Murphy said after the meeting ended.
All sides will start drafting proposed settlements and then will begin negotiating over the terms. Murphy characterized the meeting as one where "all sides were willing to work in good faith."
"We really look at this as a chance for mediation and that everyone, whether they are FLDS or former FLDS, everyone's rights are protected," he said.
Calls to an attorney representing FLDS members were not immediately returned Wednesday.
The UEP Trust, which controls homes and property in the FLDS enclaves of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., was taken over by the courts in 2005 over allegations that leaders of the polygamous sect mismanaged it. A judge appointed a special fiduciary to manage the trust and approved a reform plan doing away with the communal property nature of it in favor of private property ownership.
The trust is land rich, but cash poor. The fiduciary has sought to sell property in the communities to pay off nearly $2 million in debts, his attorneys have said. FLDS members have filed lawsuits challenging the sale of 711 acres of farmland they claimed was prophesied to be a temple site. Another lawsuit claims the reformed trust violates their right to practice their religion by preventing them from consecrating their property to the church.
Trust attorneys disputed the temple assertions and argued that for 3 1/2 years, the FLDS refused to cooperate with the fiduciary on reform efforts. All sides agreed to enter into settlement talks just before a scheduled hearing on the sale of Berry Knoll, where hundreds of FLDS faithful showed up to a St. George court to protest it.
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705267344,00.html
FLDS leader arraigned in a rural Texas court
By Ben Winslow
Deseret News
Published: December 2, 2008
The leader of the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch appeared in a rural Texas court on a charge accusing him of performing an underage marriage.
Fredrick Merril Jessop, 72, was arraigned in Schleicher County court Monday on a charge of conducting a ceremony prohibited by law. An indictment unsealed by the courts when Jessop surrendered accuses the ranch leader of performing a marriage involving an underage girl to FLDS leader Warren Jeffs in 2006.
The girl's name is redacted from the indictment but court documents filed with an ongoing child custody case claim that Jessop married his 12-year-old daughter to Jeffs. That girl is currently back in foster care after a judge ruled her mother failed to protect her from abuse.
Leroy Johnson Steed, 42, appeared on a charge of sexual assault, bigamy and tampering with evidence. Steed was arrested in the early days of the April raid on the YFZ Ranch, and an indictment accuses him of trying to conceal "an electronic data storage device and its contents, and assorted papers contained in a trash bag, with intent to impair their availability as evidence in the investigation."
The men did not enter pleas, court clerks in Eldorado said Monday. Wendell Loy Nielsen, 68, did not appear for a scheduled arraignment on three counts of bigamy. Court hearings were also scheduled for Raymond Merril Jessop, Allan Eugene Keate, Michael Emack, Merril Leroy Jessop, Lehi Barlow Jeffs, Abram Harker Jeffs and Keith William Dutson Jr. Prosecutors made a minor change in the wording of some of the indictments and sought a list of defense expert witnesses, the attorney general's office said.
All of the hearings were continued until Jan. 12, court clerks said.
Only Jeffs has yet to be arraigned on criminal charges in Texas. He is currently in an Arizona jail awaiting trial there on sexual misconduct charges accusing him of performing underage marriages. In Texas, Jeffs has been indicted on sexual assault and bigamy charges.
Jeffs, 52, was convicted of rape as an accomplice in Utah for performing a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin. He is also facing a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution stemming from his time on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list.
A grand jury was convened in the aftermath of the YFZ raid outside Eldorado. In all, a dozen men are charged with crimes ranging from bigamy to sexual assault of a child to failure to report child abuse in connection with underage marriages. The grand jury is scheduled to meet a last time Dec. 16.
Hundreds of children were removed from the ranch by Texas authorities who responded to the ranch to investigate a phone call alleging abuse involving members of the Utah-based polygamous church. That call is believed to be a hoax, but authorities claim to have found other signs of abuse once on site.
The 439 children were returned to their families two months later when a pair of Texas courts ruled the state acted improperly, and the children were not at immediate risk of abuse. Only 36 children remain under court supervision in what was once the nation's largest child custody case. Texas child welfare authorities have said they "nonsuited" hundreds of children after finding either no evidence of abuse or their parents took appropriate steps to protect them.
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705267296,00.html
Jeffs' lawyers seeking deposition of activist
By Ben Winslow
Deseret News
Published: December 2, 2008
KINGMAN, Ariz. — Lawyers for Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs are seeking a court-ordered deposition of an anti-polygamy activist.
In papers filed Friday in Mohave County Superior Court, Jeffs' attorneys seek a deposition of Flora Jessop, objecting to her appearance at a voluntary interview with them on Nov. 24. She brought a TV crew with her, and the interview was over before it started.
"Ms. Jessop's publicity stunt is clearly an unacceptable condition," attorneys Richard Wright and Michael Piccarreta wrote, adding that Jessop sought to turn her interview into "The Jerry Springer Show."
Jessop claimed in a statement that she showed up willing to cooperate, but she wanted someone to document the "truth of abuse in polygamy." Jessop declined earlier requests for a newspaper reporter to attend the interview. Jessop said she will not object to a deposition.
"The only possible result of Ms. Jessop's latest publicity stunt is to generate adverse publicity to prejudice the defendant in the local media and possibly on a national level," Wright and Piccarreta wrote.
Jeffs' defense attorneys are seeking to question Jessop about phone calls she had with Rozita Swinton, who is suspected of making the hoax call that launched the April raid on the FLDS Church's ranch in Texas. They are seeking to suppress any evidence taken from the Texas raid in Jeffs' upcoming Arizona trial, where he is accused of performing underage marriages.
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705267790,00.html
12 FLDS won't seek change in venue
Tiny Schleicher County courthouse could face crowds
By Michelle Roberts
Associated Press Published: December 4, 2008
SAN ANTONIO — The polygamist sect men facing criminal charges in West Texas have indicated they do not plan to seek a change of venue for their trials, meaning a tiny courthouse that hasn't seen a jury trial in at least a decade could face a stampede in the coming year.
"What would be a better place? At this point, we don't intend to ask for a change in venue," said Kent Schaffer, a Houston attorney who represents a Fundamentalist LDS Church member facing bigamy charges.
Other defense lawyers and a church spokesman have also indicated they don't plan to ask Texas District Judge Barbara Walther to move the trials out of Schleicher County.
In all, 11 sect men have been charged with felonies including sexual assault of a child, bigamy, conducting an unlawful marriage ceremony involving a minor and tampering with evidence. A 12th man, the sect's doctor, has been charged with three misdemeanor counts of failure to report child abuse.
Because the men were charged separately, each faces a separate trial. No dates have been set yet.
The tiny two-story courthouse in Eldorado has not held a jury trial in "a long, long time," said Schleicher County Clerk Peggy Williams, estimating it's been at least a decade.
Asked whether the county that has only about 2,000 registered voters could handle a dozen trials, she said: "I couldn't tell you. It depends on what the attorneys come up with."
Venue changes are rare. Although prosecutors can request them and judges can decide independently to order them, the moves are most often sought by defense attorneys arguing their clients can't get a fair trial in their home county because of publicity surrounding the case.
In Schleicher County, members of the FLDS have been the talk of the town for years as their neighbors saw them transform a small dusty ranch into a full-blown community with a soaring temple, schoolhouse and homes. The FLDS Church broke away from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; the Mormon church renounced polygamy more than a century ago.
When child welfare officials and law enforcement raided the FLDS-run Yearning For Zion Ranch in April, the sect with women who wear distinctive pioneer-style dresses drew worldwide news coverage. Child welfare authorities accused the group of forcing underage girls into marriages and sex.
But Schaffer, who represents Wendell Nielsen, said moving to another county probably wouldn't solve the problem of pretrial publicity.
"Whatever publicity exists is pervasive around the state," he said.
The attorney general's office, which is handling the prosecution for the county, hasn't requested a venue change, and spokesman Jerry Strickland declined comment on whether it would.
But FLDS spokesman Willie Jessop said sect members would willingly face their neighbors in court.
"We're in that county to stay. We're not going anywhere," he said. "We're not going to run. I think everyone has gotten that message loud and clear."
William Allison, the director of the University of Texas Criminal Defense Clinic, said venue changes are not easy to get, and there could be some advantages to staying in Schleicher County.
"In West Texas, you're going to pull a very conservative but libertarian type of conservative" jury pool, he said. "When you think about it, that's probably a pretty good fit."
http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2008/dec/04/flds-leader-jeffs-appeals-utah-conviction/
FLDS leader Jeffs appeals Utah conviction
By JENNIFER DOBNER The Associated Press
December 4, 2008
SALT LAKE CITY - Attorneys for polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs asked the Utah Supreme Court to reverse his 2007 criminal conviction and direct a judge to order a new trial.
The appeal filed Nov. 26 sites improper jury instructions, the substitution of a juror and other trial errors that warrant a rehearing of the case.
The Utah attorney general's office has 60 days to respond.
Jeffs, the head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, was convicted of two counts of accomplice rape. The group, which practices a form of plural marriage, is based in the neighboring communities of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah, and also owns the YFZ Ranch near Eldorado.
The charges against Jeffs stemmed from a 2001 religious marriage between Elissa Wall, then just 14, and her 19-year-old cousin, Allen Steed.
The Associated Press does not generally identify people who allege sexual assaults, but Wall, now 22, has spoken publicly about the case and published a book, detailing her life leading up to the trial.
Jeffs, 53, was sentenced to two consecutive prison terms of five years to life in the Utah State Prison. The appeal calls the consecutive terms an "abuse of discretion," by Judge James Shumate, and unwarranted given the facts of the case.
"At most, Jeffs performed a wedding ceremony and thereafter counseled the couple to make efforts to make the marriage work," the appeal states. "Even if the convictions are sustained, this Court should order that the sentences be served concurrently."
The appeal also asks Utah's high court to order Shumate to reconsider an earlier motion for a retrial, which alleged the court improperly seated an alternate juror after the start of deliberations. Shumate denied a motion for retrial in April.
Jeffs is jailed in Arizona awaiting trial on charges related to other underage marriages. He also faces multiple felony indictments in Texas for sexual assault of a child and bigamy.
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705267858,00.html
Jeffs' lawyers appeal his Utah convictions
By Linda Thomson
Deseret News
Published: December 4, 2008
Lawyers for Warren Steed Jeffs, the leader of the Fundamentalist LDS Church, have appealed to the Utah Supreme Court to reverse Jeffs' 2007 convictions on two counts of being an accomplice to rape and rule that he should get a new trial.
The high court, as an alternative move, could order 5th District Judge James Shumate to review a motion for a retrial in Jeffs' case.
Attorneys Walter Bugden, Tara Isaacson and Richard Wright cited what they termed as errors in the case, including such things as flawed jury instructions, the seating of a replacement juror after deliberations had begun and "an unconstitutionally vague" definition of enticement in Utah's rape law.
Jeffs was convicted by a St. George jury of presiding over a 2001 marriage ceremony in which a then 14-year-old girl, Elissa Wall, was wed to her 19-year-old cousin, Allen Steed.
Among other things, the legal brief filed Nov. 25 contends that Jeffs simply performed a wedding ceremony and did not intend for the girl to be raped, nor did he intend to help Steed commit rape.
Jeffs' lawyers also say the court was wrong to impose consecutive sentences instead of concurrent sentences.
Shumate sentenced Jeffs to two consecutive terms of five years to life in prison for the two first-degree felonies.
The Utah Attorney General's Office has 60 days to respond with its own legal brief.
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705268062,00.html
Committee considers mediating FLDS/ex-FLDS divide
By Ben Winslow
Deseret News
December 4, 2008
There may be a stand-down in the litigation over the United Effort Plan Trust, but some who live in the fundamentalist border communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., don't feel that way.
"Warren's people do not recognize the judge's stand down," Stephanie Colgrove, a former member of the Fundamentalist LDS Church, said of sect leader Warren Jeffs' followers.
Colgrove was one of several ex-FLDS members who went to the meeting of the Safety Net Committee in St. George on Thursday to complain about how they are being treated by members of the polygamous sect. She said she signed an agreement to occupy a Hildale home on UEP land that was abandoned by an FLDS member, who showed up on her doorstep a few weeks ago to demand it back.
Others also said they have been told to get out.
"I don't need to have to be worried that somebody's going to come knock down the door and start packing up my stuff," Colgrove told the committee.
Some complained about harassment by FLDS members and vandalism over property issues. Andrew Chatwin said he tried to take his sick boy to a pair of FLDS-run clinics for help. He was turned away.
"They offered an ambulance service. That was the only thing they offered," he said. "Their argument is their practice is full."
Chatwin has filed discrimination complaints with both the Utah and Arizona attorneys general.
"We live in the community and would like to be treated as citizens," he told the committee.
The Safety Net Committee, a coalition of government agencies, social service workers, activists and members of Utah's fundamentalist communities, is considering trying to help mediate the disputes through a subcommittee — bringing FLDS members and ex-members to the same table to talk.
"These are things that we need to be mediated. When you bring lawyers to the table, it's adversarial," said Mary Batchelor, a committee member and director of the pro-polygamy group Principle Voices. "If you want to have an open community with respect, then mediation is needed."
The UEP Trust, the real estate holdings arm of the FLDS Church, controls homes and property in Hildale and Colorado City. It was taken over by the Utah courts in 2005 over allegations that FLDS leaders mismanaged it. A judge appointed a court-appointed special fiduciary to manage it and signed an order reforming it, doing away with the communal property nature of it in lieu of private property ownership.
For years, FLDS members were silent on the changes but have recently made legal challenges to the trust. The legal challenges are on hold while lawyers for FLDS members, the UEP and the attorney general's office engage in settlement talks. Utah Attorney General's spokesman Paul Murphy said some concerns have been taken to attorneys representing some FLDS members.
"We're trying to negotiate a settlement that protects the rights of the FLDS people and the rights of the people who have homes," he said.
Safety Net Committee coordinator Pat Merkley said they would help to find solutions.
"We will work to help you and hear you out," she said.
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_11142365
Non-FLDS in polygamous community ask panel for help
12/05/2008 10:05:03 AM MST
Hildale » Residents worried about access to health care and fair housing treatment
By Brooke Adams
The Salt Lake Tribune
Disputes over homes and health services in a polygamous community spilled over into a Safety Net Committee meeting Thursday as disgruntled residents appealed for help.
Andrew and Michelle Chatwin said the Utah Attorney General's Office has ignored their discrimination claim against the Hildale Health Service Center. Genevive Hainlein wants help getting utilities turned on at a condemned home she wants to fix up, while Stephanie Colgrove fears being kicked out of a home by the man who built it.
The committee, a coalition of government agencies, service providers and representatives of fundamentalist communities, agreed to help the residents. All of the residents who spoke before the committee are former members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
But some of their fears may be unfounded.
"No one, FLDS or otherwise, is going to remove any one from a house unless there is a court order to do that," said Jim Bradshaw, an attorney representing sect members.
Attorneys for the sect and the state are currently in a "stand down" while they negotiate resolution of lawsuits involving the United Effort Plan Trust, which holds virtually all property in the adjoining towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz. The trust has been under court oversight since 2005.
Trust overseer Bruce R. Wisan said he is "not going to intervene in the stand down period" in any disputes, which leaves the status quo in place for now.
Andrew Chatwin told The Salt Lake Tribune he was encouraged to attend the meeting by Paul Murphy, spokesman for the Attorney General's Office spokesman.
The Chatwins said they were turned away from the health clinic a year ago after seeking treatment for a sick child. Staff said the center was not accepting new patients and instead offered to transport the child, who had an ear infection, by ambulance to Hurricane. They got the same response when they inquired about using the center's birthing clinic earlier this year.
There is another health clinic in nearby Centennial Park, Ariz., that has an open practice, but Chatwin said his family wants access to the Utah clinic.
The Hildale Health center has two physicians; one has been working at a Texas ranch occupied by the sect. That led the other physician to limit his practice, said Jethro Barlow, a former FLDS member helping with management of the UEP Trust.
The health center does not receive federal funds directly, according to Tom Hudachko, Utah Department of Health spokesman. While many residents have Medicaid coverage, clinics may limit how many such patients they serve, he said.
But Chatwin believes his family is being turned away because they are not sect members. "It is religious discrimination, a civil rights violation, if they are only serving FLDS people there," he told the Tribune.
The couple filed complaints in Utah and Arizona, where an affiliated annex is located, but only heard from the Arizona Attorney General's Office. That office would neither confirm nor deny its involvement, but Chatwin said a settlement has been offered. It asks that the clinic be open to and employ non-FLDS residents and seeks $5,000 in damages.
"appellate courts subsequently returned the children to the men who
molested them."
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/6150332.html
Treating children as property CPS overreacts to court decision By
RANDY BURTON Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle Dec. 6, 2008, 9:11AM
Children are not property and parents relinquish their "right" to be a
parent the minute they abuse a child. But two recent court actions
have given me cause for concern. The first incident began last spring
when Child Protective Services was called to investigate the
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS)
compound in El Dorado, Texas. CPS found pregnant children living in a
remote, guarded compound. They had no choice but to remove the
children from the dangerous environment. CPS' actions were supported
at the trial level, but appellate courts subsequently returned the
children to the men who molested them. The Texas Supreme Court held
that the rights of the parents overshadowed the rights of the child
and the duty of society to protect the children, even from their own
parents. CPS is legally mandated to remove all children from the
family when felonious abuse is suspected. Given that the FLDS members
do not recognize a traditional definition of the family, going so far
as to remove mothers and children from one man and "reassign" them to
another, how can the government or the courts determine where the
family starts and where it ends?
date: 12/9/2008
http://www.sltrib.com/polygamy/ci_11172720 DNA taken from polygamous
sect newborn in Texas By Michelle Roberts The Associated Press
Updated: 12/09/2008 07:17:28 AM MST SAN ANTONIO Texas investigators
took DNA samples Monday from a baby born to a teenage member of a
polygamous sect months after a high-profile raid, trying to determine
the father's identity and whether he is an adult. Jerry Strickland, a
spokesman for the state attorney general's office, confirmed Monday
that investigators had a search warrant and gathered a DNA swab.
Child welfare authorities have said in court filings that
investigators believe the girl, now 17, was married to a man in the
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints when she
was 14. In Texas, someone younger than 17 generally cannot consent to
sex with an adult
date: 12/12/2008
http://www.truthwillprevail.org/index.php?parentid=1&index=161
YFZ Search Warrant Was Not Obtained in Good Faith
2008-12-29 11:54:28
By Donald Richter
Lots of new information here not in previous reports:
- Authorities were at gate at 5:30 BUT
- Warrant was not signed until 5:50
- They called Barlow to prove he was in Arizona at 6:40PM
- They STILL looked for the girl even though half of her story was
proven false
- Ranchers were told the number could not be traced. Doran was sure
details proved girl was inside the ranch.
- The reason they didn't get in until 9:00 is that they did not
produce the warrant until then.
- Doran told ranchers planning started Monday March 31
- APC, Swat van and expedition north of ranch (opposite entrance to
south) ready by 6PM same time as Doran at front gate.
date: 12/27/2009
YFZ video press release
http://www.truthwillprevail.org/index.php?parentid=1&index=160
December 26, 2008
When Texas law-enforcement officials and CPS invaded the YFZ Ranch on
April 3, 2008, their actions were totally unjustified. They had no
credible evidence of abuse, only a hoax telephone call from a woman
currently undergoing psychiatric treatment. They never entered the
Ranch to find the supposed “victim” but rather to go on a fishing
expedition for evidence of abuse, neglect, or supposed criminal
activity. For Texas CPS and law-enforcement officials to continue to
make disturbing and unfounded allegations of abuse and neglect is
nothing more than an attempt to justify their own barbaric actions and
to divert attention from the real issues, such as the irreparable
damage inflicted on innocent children and the expenditure of millions
of taxpayer dollars on this unjustifiable raid. The Eldorado
Investigation Report released by CPS on December 22, is as false and
fraudulent as the original hoax telephone call that triggered the
raid.
The Texas Court of Appeals ordered the return of the children, and the
Texas Supreme Court sustained this decision by ruling, “On the record
before us, removal of the children was not warranted.”
Texas CPS has never given reliable information. Shortly after the
raid, they leaked news reports of an excessive number of broken bones
among YFZ children. This figure was later shown to be considerably
lower than the national average. They classified 26 adult women as
underage mothers when their true age was backed up by
government-issued ID’s and then kept two of these women in state
custody long enough to kidnap their newborn babies.
At the 14-day hearing, they claimed that 5 minor girls were pregnant
or had given birth. On April 28, CPS spokesman Darrell Azar increased
the count to 31. The Eldorado Investigation report of December 22 now
places the number at 7. When has CPS ever told the truth? They have
never acknowledged their former inaccurate statements. They have no
credibility.
The new CPS report has manufactured 262 cases of child abuse where
none existed by claiming that parents who did not remove their
children from a home where they were exposed to the example of an
alleged underage marriage were guilty of neglect. What hypocrisy in a
state that leads the nation in teen pregnancies! The report then
proceeds to imply that their so-called “neglect” is also abuse by the
cleverly worded statement, “Of the 146 families investigated, 62
percent had a confirmed finding of abuse or neglect involving one or
more children in the family.” Later in the report CPS admits that 96
percent of the YFZ children have now been “determined to be safe in
their households to the point that there is not a need for court
oversight.” There never was a need for court oversight in the first
place! Instructors of the state-required parenting classes noted on
many occasions that the FLDS parents should have been teaching the
classes.
Now that most of the children have been nonsuited, it might be assumed
that the families have returned to the security of their homes and
community. But what are they to return to? Their temple has been
desecrated. Irreplaceable documents and artifacts of earlier Church
prophets have been confiscated, when they contained nothing even
implying criminal conduct. Their homes have been broken into, and even
unlocked doors have been kicked in. They lost an entire growing season
for their gardens and orchards, a very critical situation for a people
who, contrary to the common misperception, had not a single person on
Welfare. Their priceless baby pictures, wedding pictures, genealogy
books, diaries, and other personal records have been seized with no
prospect of their ever being returned.
A formerly self-sustaining community has been reduced to poverty. They
now must pay $544,100.77 in property taxes, but their resources have
been wasted and their source of livelihood cut off. Texas brags that
it has spent over 12.4 million dollars to date on the YFZ raid,
including more than a million dollars for bussing the children from
their homes to shelters and foster-care facilities, and yet not one
penny has ever been given to parents to reimburse them for the
millions of dollars they have expended to pay the staggering legal
expenses, to visit children scattered all across the state of Texas,
or to rent houses and live in cities away from the Ranch.
Constitutional rights were trampled upon as though they didn’t apply
to the FLDS. Instead of being presented with search warrants, the
people were presented with deadly weapons. When one young mother
answered the door, she faced two loaded guns only 12 inches from her
head. Her four-year-old son, his face white with terror, asked,
“Mother, are they coming to shoot us?” The Court of Appeals ruled that
officials were not justified in treating the entire ranch community as
one household, supposedly covered by a single search warrant, and even
the general warrant for the expanded search was not signed until after
the searches and seizures already had taken place.
When the FLDS men surrounding the Temple failed to be intimidated by
tanks, helicopters, and armed men, and with no resistance knelt in
prayer, an officer fired several rounds from his gun in an apparent
attempt to provoke a confrontation. With snipers positioned on the
limestone rocks above the sacred site, this action easily could have
triggered a bloody assassination.
The only real abuse that either women or children suffered was at the
hands of Texas law enforcement and CPS. They were treated as prisoners
of war at the San Angelo Coliseum and the other shelters. Children,
and even pregnant mothers, shivered on hard army cots with only a
plastic pillow and two thin blankets that were more like sheets, while
a large overhead door was left open most of the night. Children used
to unprocessed foods and natural sweeteners were fed a diet loaded
with canned foods, preservatives, and sugar. Many suffered from
stomach cramps and diarrhea. Through a combination of unfamiliar diet,
exposure, and stress, almost every child became sick, and some coughed
so hard that they vomited. In an effort to make the public aware of
the dreadful conditions in the shelters, several mothers talked to
reporters from the Deseret News and shared pictures taken with their
cell phones. Just 20 minutes after a special media presentation aired
on April 13, featuring conversations with three mothers, an order was
given to confiscate the cell phones, isolating the captives from their
attorneys and from any outside communication. A member of another
government agency reported that after screaming children were ripped
from their mothers in the Coliseum, one baby was left in a stroller
for 24 hours without food or water and had to be hospitalized.
Firsthand witnesses testify that many babies were drugged to sedate
them after the separation, and one 18-month-old boy went into shock as
a result.
Innocent girls were brutally interrogated for hours as investigators
demanded, “How many husbands do you have?” or “How many men have you
spiritually been with?” When they answered quite honestly “None” or
that they didn’t know what they were talking about, they were shouted
at and told, “You are a liar, and you know where liars go.”
Investigators insisted that they did have babies but just wouldn’t
admit it. At Fort Concho, a young lady was locked in a room for hours
and told that she never would see her family and friends again unless
she admitted to things that she knew nothing of. This is the treatment
CPS meted out to the alleged “victims,” and yet they still dare to
assert that the secure and loving homes to which the children were
returned were abusive.
These people are not just “those FLDS.” They are American citizens,
and they have been treated in a most unconstitutional and un-American
way.
CPS has been a convenient tool for government officials seeking to
implement their own vindictive agenda of driving the FLDS out of the
state by holding as hostages the most prized possession of any family,
their children. Texas state representative Harvey Hilderbran
introduced House Bill 3006 in 2005 specifically targeting the FLDS.
The House Research Organization bill analysis quotes supporters as
saying: “A group of Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints is
building a compound south of San Angelo… Local residents… are
concerned that members of the group will run for public office and
will have moved a large enough group of voters into the area to take
over local government.”
On June 2, 2008, the Deseret News quotes Hilderbran’s gloating
comment on his efforts to drive the FLDS: “I wanted to make it
unappealing to them. I hoped they wouldn’t stay.” Eldorado sheriff
David Doran is quoted in the Fort Worth Star Telegram of June 3, 2008,
as saying, “I believe when all of the criminal charges come forward it
is going to be very hard to practice their beliefs within the state of
Texas.” Even Texas governor Rick Perry, while addressing a business
conference in LaBaule, France, on June 5, 2008, said in reference to
the FLDS, “Maybe Texas is not the place you need to consider calling
home.” Governor Perry went on to accept full responsibility for the
raid. And CPS has the audacity to say that “it has never been about
religion.”
Shortly after the raid, when things looked darkest, the FLDS people
sent personal appeals to Governor Perry, state and national
legislators, and even the President of the United States. Their
desperate pleas for help were not even acknowledged.
Government officials misuse their power when they ignore the truth and
believe only that which will further their own agendas. This nation
has fought a divisive war on the basis of bad intelligence, and CPS
has continued on a course of bad intelligence from the day they
entered the YFZ Ranch. They have never proven ANY allegations, and we
strongly urge the people of Texas, and of this nation as a whole, to
hold these officials accountable for their gross misrepresentations
and abuse.
In behalf of the many FLDS families traumatized by the YFZ Ranch raid,
we first thank our Heavenly Father for His protecting hand. We are
sincerely grateful to the Texas Court of Appeals, the Texas Supreme
Court, and the dedicated lawyers who have worked tirelessly in the
reunification of the FLDS children and their parents. We also thank
the many friends who came to our aid from across the nation and around
the world. Your expressions of kindness, your prayers, and your
support mean more than you will ever know.
Sincerely,
Willie Jessop
Mothers and Children of YFZ
Photos
Sarah Barlow 37
Loiusa Jessop 22
Pamela jessop age 18
5 minor girls pregnant or given birth
later 31
investigation: dec 22 says 7
Never acknowledge inacurate statements
Partrick crimmins photo
Of the 146 families investigations
62 precent had a confirmed finding...
96% of children have been determined
to be safe no need for court oversight
FLDS parents should have been teaching the classes
temple descecreated
first edition book of mormon confiscated
unlocked doors kicked open
personal records and picture seized
no prospect of return
reduced to poverty
6:55 map of foster homes
8:13 men surrounding temple
8:21 tank outside of temple
$1m for busing to foster care
map of foster homes
didn't see search warrants
loaded guns
boy: "are they coming to shoot us?"
lost entire season of gardens
search warrant signed after the search
men knelt in prayer
fired gun
picture of men standing outside of temple
only real abuse was at hands of CPS
treated as prisoners of war
almost every child became sick
april 13 press - order given to confiscate cell phones
one baby left in a stroller
babies drugged to sedate after separation
one boy went into shock
angie voss picture
interrogation
how many have you been with
- shouted at, you are a liar
ruby gutierrez
you have babies, y0ou won't admit it
girl locked in a room unless you
admit things you have no knowlege of
Harvey Hilderbran picture
sam brower joh krakauer mankin
deseret jun 2, 2008 quotes " i wanted to make it unappealing to them.
I hoped they wouldn't stay"
Doran: it is going to be very hard for them to practice their beliefs
Perry "maybe texas is not the place you need to consider calling home"
date: 2/2/2009
THERESA JEFFS UNSUITED, MALONIS STILL WON'T LET GO
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705282220,00.html
FLDS leader's daughter among 5 dropped in Texas case
By Ben Winslow
Deseret News
February 2, 2009
The custody battle over the children from the Fundamentalist LDS
Church's YFZ Ranch is winding down rapidly, with only three children
left under court oversight.
One of the most hotly fought custody cases is closer to ending. In a
filing in a San Angelo, Texas, court on Monday, Texas Child Protective
Services asked a judge to "nonsuit" 17-year-old Teresa Jeffs, the
daughter of FLDS leader Warren Jeffs.
"The Court orders the suit affecting the parent-child relationship as
it relates to Teresa Jeffs, a child, as to the action filed by the
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, dismissed," Judge
Barbara Walther wrote in an order obtained by the Deseret News.
A CPS spokesman declined to speak about the dismissal, saying the
agency does not talk about specific cases. Jeffs' court-appointed
attorney, Natalie Malonis, said the case was not over, however.
Malonis filed a counter-petition in January, seeking to place
restrictions upon Jeffs — including appointing her mother and CPS as
joint-managing conservators of the child, restricting her to live in
Texas, and seeking financial support from the United Effort Plan
Trust, the real-estate arm of the FLDS Church.
"I'm hoping to settle all this," Malonis told the Deseret News on
Monday.
CPS drops case involving FLDS leader’s teen daughter But evidence
showed she married an older man at 15 By TERRI LANGFORD
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6243119.html Feb. 2, 2009,
7:10PM
Texas Child Protective Services notified a judge on Monday that it is
removing the 17-year-old daughter of jailed polygamist sect leader
Warren Jeffs from court supervision even though evidence shows her
father encouraged her marriage to a 34-year-old sect member.
The teen’s removal leaves under court supervision only three of 439
children CPS removed from the sect’s ranch in Eldorado in April 2008.
“We have nonsuited (dismissed) cases when we believe that parents or
family members have taken steps to protect the children from future
abuse or neglect,” CPS spokesman Patrick Crimmins said. “A nonsuit
means that in our estimation court oversight is no longer needed to
ensure a child’s safety.”
http://gosanangelo.com/news/2009/feb/03/breaking-news-jeffs-daughter-dropped-from-flds/
Jeffs' daughter dropped from FLDS civil investigation By Paul A.
Anthony 9:36 a.m., February 3, 2009 The 17-year-old daughter of Warren
Jeffs has been dropped from the state's civil investigation into
alleged abuse in the polygamous sect led by her father. The girl, a
member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints, is described in sect documents as being married to a
then-34-year-old man the day after her 15th birthday.
date: 2/3/2009
Merrianne's LAWYER WANTS TO QUIT
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705282475,00.html
Lawyer asks to quit FLDS custody case
By Ben Winslow
Deseret News
February 3, 2009
A lawyer appointed to represent a 14-year-old girl believed to have
been married at age 12 to Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren
Jeffs is seeking to drop out of the child custody case.
Court clerks in San Angelo, Texas, confirmed to the Deseret News on
Tuesday that Carmen Dusek filed a motion to withdraw as the girl's
attorney. The reasons why were not immediately clear as the filing had
not been made public.
onsider the motion on Friday, the same day she plans to
take up the case of 17-year-old Teresa Jeffs, the daughter of the FLDS
leader. Meanwhile, a report on the 14-year-old girl accused her mother
of text messaging her, urging her to "stay angry" and to "keep crying"
because "CPS needs to see that you are miserable there."
date: 3/30/2009
http://www.sltrib.com/polygamy/ci_11998456
http://docs.google.com/Edit?id=dfthx7q4_1592dnb27wd7
Texas vs. FLDS: A year after the raid Winning public opinion » Letting
news media in gave polygamous community a human face. By Brooke Adams
The Salt Lake Tribune Updated: 03/29/2009 07:01:16 AM MDT
date: 3/27/2009
http://www.sltrib.com/polygamy/ci_12013868
CHILD SNATCHERS DISAPPOINTED TEXAS CPS PULLING OUT
Texas child advocates believe system failed after FLDS raid
By Paul A. Anthony
The San Angelo Standard-times
Updated: 03/27/2009 06:35:24 PM MDT
San Angelo, Texas -- A potholder, sand art and the hug of a child: One year later, they are the simple tokens the three women seated around a conference room table carry with them.
They are reminders of the children for whom they were asked to advocate -- and whom they believe the system failed.
....
The girl, a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, was returned to her parents in June, and like 437 others, her case has been dismissed by the state's Child Protective Services agency.
Schell shakes her head.
"She was abrasive," she smiles, gesturing to her colleague, Shirley
Davis, and her boss, advocacy center Executive Director Debra Brown,
"just like us
date: 3/28/2009
http://iperceive.net/one-sided-yfz-ranch-redux-paul-anthony-falls-for-west-texas-casa-anniversary-propaganda/
One-sided YFZ Ranch redux: Paul Anthony falls for West Texas CASA
anniversary propaganda by Kurt Schulzke on March 28, 2009
I keep hoping the folks at the San Angelo Standard Times will get the
hang of writing a balanced story on the YFZ affair. It would have
been so easy for Paul Anthony to do just as the SPJ Code of Ethics
requires: “Diligently seek out subjects of news stories to give them
the opportunity to respond to allegations of wrongdoing.” But he
didn’t.
It is likewise inexplicable that the Salt Lake Tribune would reprint
Anthony’s story, so clearly slanted against the FLDS and in favor of
empowering the government to intervene in private lives, without
bothering to talk with anyone in the FLDS community or with advocates
of less government interference in family life. Anthony had a great
“teachable moment” and fumbled it away.
date: 4/3/2009 AP shows photos of temple bed
One Year Later: Inside the Polygamist Ranch Raid
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT-OvZlIjpI
date: 4/8/2009 FLDS account of raid published
http://www.truthwillprevail.org/index.php?parentid=1&index=168
This is the first in a series of articles giving a history of the raid on the YFZ Ranch. Much of the material has been obtained from the diaries and journals of the FLDS men, women, and children who were directly involved in the events narrated, and I am deeply grateful to these dear friends for sharing their experiences. Wherever possible, I have also used information gleaned from news articles, court transcripts, letters, and other documents.
Part 1—Arrival of the Forces
Shortly after 5:00 p.m. on April 3, 2008, the lookout on the north
watch tower at the YFZ Ranch near Eldorado, Texas, noticed a
grayish-white pickup drive across the field on the north side of the
ranch close to the gate that gave access to a gas-line right-of-way.
Assuming that a neighbor was inspecting his property, he gave the
incident little thought until an hour later when he observed an APC
(armored personnel carrier), two police cars, a cargo-carrier van, and
a black Ford Expedition following the same route the pickup had taken.
He quickly alerted others on the ranch of the approaching forces. By
the time a second man arrived near the fence line to examine the
situation, a SWAT team already was hunkered down behind the APC in
full gear, including body armor, helmets, face masks, machine guns,
and other weapons. Texas authorities were moving into position for the
largest government action against the followers of Joseph Smith since
Arizona’s raid on Short Creek in 1953.
The FLDS people had only been in Texas slightly over four years. In
November of 2003, the FLDS purchased a 1,691-acre ranch near Eldorado,
Texas. Laboring around the clock, FLDS workmen had transformed the old
ranch—dotted with rusty oil rigs, cactus, and gnarled mesquite
trees—into a thriving community of massive log homes, a Bishop’s
storehouse, a cement plant, gardens, orchards, a modern dairy, cheese
factory, medical clinic, grain silo, sewage treatment plant, furniture
factory, and cabinet shop. The most impressive structure was a
beautiful four-story temple faced in native white limestone quarried
on the ranch.
In 2005, just over a year after the FLDS began settling in Texas,
State Representative Harvey Hilderbran (R-Kerrville) introduced HB
3006, specifically targeting the FLDS people. “I wanted to make it
unappealing to them,” Hilderbran told the Deseret News. “I hoped they
wouldn’t stay.”[1] Political jealousies also were apparent in the
intended legislation. The House Research Organization bill analysis
reported that supporters of the bill had stated that “a group of
Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints is building a compound
south of San Angelo….Local residents…are concerned that members of the
group will run for public office and will have moved a large enough
group of voters into the area to take over local governance.” The
analysis also stated that “[T]his bill would pick up elements of
similar laws in Utah and Arizona, states that have faced similar
concerns about the same group.”[2] Although the bill itself stalled in
committee because of opposition to provisions affecting home-school
curriculums and voting rights of minorities, Hilderbran was able to
attach the marriage amendments to a Child Protective Services bill
containing less controversial family law matters.[3] The result was
that Texas raised the minimum age for marriage without a court order
from fourteen to sixteen and changed the law on bigamy so that instead
of a class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a
fine of up to $4,000 it became a second-degree felony punishable by a
prison term of from two to twenty years and a fine of up to $10,000.
If one partner was age sixteen or younger, the prison term could be
from five to ninety-nine years. The law also required spouses to
testify in cases involving bigamy and provided that persons performing
a marriage prohibited by law would be subject to a prison term of from
two to ten years and a fine of up to $10,000.[4]
According to Schleicher County Attorney Raymond Loomis, Jr., the
report which triggered the April 3 raid was the first accusation of
criminal activity on the ranch since the FLDS members bought the land.
“They’ve been real quiet,” he said. “They keep to themselves, and we
don’t hear or see much of them at all. There really hasn’t been any
problem with them.”[5]
At about the same time the military force was observed moving into
position on the north of the YFZ Ranch, one of the FLDS men driving to
Eldorado, met three Schleicher County officers, fifteen troopers, and
about ten unidentified cars approaching the ranch from the south and
notified Bishop Merril Jessop. Pulled over for speeding by state
trooper Daniel Nunez, who drove the last car in the convoy, the man
flatly denied that he had been speeding, saying that he had just
passed about thirty cops. After checking to see that no one else was
in the vehicle, Officer Nunez let him off with a warning, and the man
phoned the lookout at the front gate and asked him to count the
vehicles as they came by. Another seven vehicles were discovered at
the south gas-line gate close to the same time the officers began
arriving at the front gate.
Merril Jessop, who was in San Antonio at the time, phoned Schleicher
County Sheriff David Doran to find out what was going on and then sent
two of his sons to the gate to discuss the situation. Sheriff Doran
introduced Captain Barry Caver of the Rangers. He said that a
sixteen-year-old girl by the name of Sarah Jessop Barlow had called a
hot line alleging that she was pregnant with her second child, was
being physically and sexually abused by her husband Dale Evans Barlow,
and was being held as a prisoner on the YFZ Ranch. The men replied
that there was no Sarah Jessop Barlow in the community and asked
whether the call had been traced to be sure that it was coming from
the ranch. When the sheriff replied that the number was blocked so
that the call couldn’t be traced, the men said they understood there
was technology available to get past a blocked number and that the
whole thing sounded like a prank call, probably a Flora Mae Jessop
deal. Doran dodged the issue and claimed that he had seen the
locations described in the calls and that the caller would have to be
inside the ranch to have included so many details. There is ample
evidence, however, that the Texas authorities knew, or should have
known, that the calls on which their search warrant was based were
bogus. Between March 29 and April 5, sixteen calls were placed to the
Newbridge Family Shelter in San Angelo, Texas, from the alleged
“Sarah.” Such calls were still going on while the raid was in
progress. The same phone was used to call a battered women’s shelter
in Washington State numerous times between March 22 and April 8. The
caller gave a similar story, identifying herself as Sarah Barlow, but,
in this case, claiming that she had a “reassigned husband” named Uncle
Merril. The calls have since been linked to a 33-year-old Black woman
in Colorado Springs named Rozita Swinton, who has a history of making
false reports of sexual abuse.[6]
The brother of Dale Evans Barlow, alleged husband of “Sarah,” arrived at the gate of the ranch about 7:15 p.m. and told the officers no one in his brother’s family was named Sarah Jessop Barlow. He said that Dale did not live on the ranch and had never been there. By this time the officers had obtained Dale’s cell-phone number, and Sheriff Doran and Captain Caver went to the sheriff’s vehicle and talked to Dale, who lived in Colorado City, Arizona, and had not even been in Texas since a school trip in 1977. Dale Barlow’s April telephone record shows two calls from the same number in Texas at 6:20:42 p.m. and 6:24:59 p.m. MST on April 3. There are no other calls on the record from or to Texas. After the conversation the officers remarked as they returned to the gate, “Well, that takes care of half the problem. Now we need to find this Sarah Jessop Barlow.”
The FLDS men at the gate insisted that there was no such person on the
ranch and asked the officers, “How do you prove nobody?” The officers
wanted to talk to girls sixteen to eighteen years old to verify
whether or not “Sarah” existed and said that they would bring in Child
Protective Services (CPS) workers to question them if they could have
a few private rooms made available for this purpose. Merril Jessop
directed a man to prepare the necessary rooms in the schoolhouse but
requested that a search warrant be presented before any officials
entered the ranch. The men at the gate had asked several times to see
a search warrant, and although one of the officers would go back each
time, supposedly to obtain it, no warrant was actually presented until
9:00 p.m. The warrant contained the signature of Judge Barbara Walther
of the 51st District Court and was dated April 3, 2008, at 5:50
p.m.[7] Since it requires almost an hour to travel from San Angelo to
the Ranch, it is obvious that the officers at the main gate had no
warrant in their possession at the time of their arrival. (See “YFZ
Search Warrant Was Not Obtained in Good Faith”)
The warrant was based on an affidavit signed by Ranger Brooks Long, stating that he had interviewed two employees of the Newbridge Family Shelter and reviewed their affidavits concerning the calls made to the “Crisis Hotline” by the alleged “Sarah.” Long’s affidavit also included the statement that he had confirmed through Sheriff Doran that Dale Barlow had been arrested in 2005 on the charge of Conspiracy to Commit Sexual Conduct with a Minor. Long obtained a copy of the judgment made by the Mohave County Superior Court and found that Dale Barlow was serving a three-year probated sentence in Arizona.[8] It does not appear that Ranger Long or any other Texas law-enforcement official had attempted by the time of the raid to contact the Mohave County probation office to verify the actual whereabouts of Mr. Barlow or to determine whether he could have been living in Texas as the “Sarah” calls indicated.
The warrant itself treated the entire YFZ Ranch as a single household
and authorized a search of “all buildings, medical facilities,
structures, places and vehicles on said premises… which are found to
be under the control of the Suspected Party named below” and the
seizure of all records pertaining to Sarah Jessop and Dale Barlow. The
officer executing the warrant was also ordered to arrest Dale Barlow
and to identify and photograph Sarah Jessop.[9]
In response to a petition from the Department of Family and Protective
Services, Judge Barbara Walther also signed an Order for Investigation
of Child Abuse. This petition has not yet been released. However, on
March 5, 2009, Judge Walther signed an order unsealing an affidavit by
CPS investigator Ruby Gutierrez in support of the petition. It is
significant to note that Ms. Gutierrez’ affidavit was not signed until
April 5, even though Judge Walther’s Order for Investigation of Child
Abuse was signed on April 3. The affidavit, therefore, was an attempt
on the part of CPS to justify what they had already done.
Ms. Gutierrez’ affidavit in the main repeated at length the story of
the “Sarah” calls but also included information obtained during the
interviews and investigations already conducted: “The department,
during its investigation of the allegations made by Sarah Jessop,
obtained access to the YFZ Ranch. While at the ranch, the Department
observed a number of young teenaged girls who appeared to be
pregnant…”[10]
During the 14-day Hearing, on April 17, attorney Kirk Hawkins during
his cross examination of CPS investigative supervisor Angie Voss,
effectively disposed of the myth of investigators’ having seen
numerous pregnant teenagers:
Q. Now you talked about—I think the affidavit also mentioned
seeing other young ladies that appeared to be minors who were
pregnant; is that correct?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And I believe according to the charts you found one that was under
seventeen—I mean that was under eighteen that was pregnant, is that
correct, one sixteen year old? On the first page.
A. One minor that is pregnant and four minors that already have
children, yes.
Q. Already have children, but the affidavits talk about several of
them that appear to be too young?
A. Yes, sir. Q. And were pregnant?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. As a general rule, don’t these—don’t these people as a whole look
younger than what they may really be?
A. I couldn’t speak to that.
Q. Is it true that some have had identification that indicated that
they were adults, but that the Department has unilaterally just
ignored or counted as a forgery or not accurate?
A. I wouldn’t say that the Department ignored their identification. I
certainly took the information off of it. But when you have a person
that appears to be in her teens and is reporting that she’s in her
late twenties with an identification that gives her a date of birth it
makes her in her late twenties, yes, we did make the decision to treat
her as a juvenile.[11]
It is a well-known fact by this time that every one of the twenty-six women on the CPS list of disputed minors has since been acknowledged by the court to be an adult; some of the ladies actually were in their mid to late thirties. CPS has a very poor track record for determining ages by visual observation.
In common with the search warrant, the Order for Investigation of
Child Abuse treated the entire ranch as a single home and recognized
an immediate need for the Department to have investigatory access to
the “home” and to the following children: “Sarah Jessop” and “Baby
Girl Jessop.” The “parent or person responsible for the children’s
care” was ordered to “allow an authorized representative of the
Department… to enter the home… [and] to interview and examine the
children...”[12]
Angie Voss, a supervisor of investigations with CPS, asked to have
five CPS investigators come in and do the questioning. A Ranger
remarked that they also needed to bring in a few officers for
protection. After the men at the gate agreed to this, a line of cars
started driving in with up to thirty vehicles backed up at the gate.
When an FLDS man at the gate objected that he had been told only “a
few,” an officer came to the gate and said, “Well, there are a couple
more.” The FLDS man insisted they call a halt, and the gate was shut
after the CPS investigators and about ten Texas Rangers had entered.
(To be continued…)
date: 4/22/2009
I called up Sherriff Painter (the SWAT team). While I did get to speak
to the man himself (first participant I got on the phone!) he said
that the Rangers were in charge of the operation, and he would not
give any details of when they were notified, or when the raid happened
at noon. He pointed me to DPS and the Rangers, but like I'm sure
anybody over there knows about anything that happened.W
date: 5/11/2009
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124200435765305371.html MAY 11, 2009
Legal Fights Strain Polygamist Sect By STEPHANIE SIMON Ten men from a
polygamist ranch in west Texas will be in court this week for a
crucial hearing ahead of their trials on criminal charges including
bigamy and felony sexual abuse of girls allegedly pressed into
marriage. Their organization -- the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, or FLDS -- is facing far broader legal
challenges, and mounting financial pressures, too.
Texas judge to hear challenge of searches at polygamous sect's ranch
Hearing » State attorneys, accused men debate evidence cited in search
warrant filings By Brooke Adams The Salt Lake Tribune Updated:
05/12/2009 04:12:16 PM MDT http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_12352943 San
Angelo, Texas » Texas authorities relied on hundreds of documents and
photographs seized from a polygamous sect's ranch last spring to craft
criminal allegations related to underage marriages against a dozen men
date: 7/23/2009
"Even though people may not agree with the FLDS doctrine, the child
wanted to be back with her family and her community. Every other child
had been returned except for (the girl)."
E-mail: bwinslow@ksl.com
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=7270444
FLDS custody case officially ends in Texas; alleged 'bride' dropped
from court oversight July 23rd, 2009 @ 3:16pm By Ben Winslow (AP file
photo) The nation's largest child custody case involving children from
the Utah-based Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints' Texas ranch was over Thursday when a judge signed an order
effectively ended court oversight of a 14-year-old girl. She was the
last of the 439 children taken into state protective custody when
Texas child welfare authorities raided the ranch last year.
"The court has stated that they will no longer continue to review the
placement, progress and welfare of the child," said Valerie Malara, a
lawyer representing the girl's mother, Barbara Jessop. "The attorney
ad litem is dismissed out of the case, CASA's dismissed out of the
case and the state is out of the case as well."
The order, signed Thursday by 51st District Judge Barbara Walther,
places the girl in the custody of her aunt. Her parents, YFZ Ranch
leader Merril Jessop and Barbara Jessop, will have visitation. The
aunt, Naomi Carlisle, can determine how much that will be.
The girl is alleged to have been married at age 12 to FLDS leader
Warren Jeffs. She was ordered back into foster care last year after
Walther ruled Barbara Jessop failed to protect her from abuse. At one
point
date: 10/8/2009
http://hughmcbryde.blogspot.com/2009/10/slow-progress-in-santos-swinton-ia.html
It is October the 8th, 2009. I received the following in the mail
today, postmarked from Colorado Springs on October 5th:
"On 09-24-09, Mr. McBryde contacted Internal Affairs regarding
some suspicions he had developed while following the Texas child
custody/abuse case involving the FLDS at the Yearning for Zion ranch.
The Ranch was raided by Texas authorities in April of 2008. Mr.
McBryde's concerns involve Rosita [sic] Swinton and her connection to
the Colorado Springs Police Department and in particular her past
association with Lt. M. Santos and Lt. J. Anderson. Mr. McBryde
requested that Internal Affairs look in to the case as he alleged that
the relationship was more significant than previously reported. In
particular he alleged the following:
1.) Ms. Swinton's relationship with Lt. Santos was more developed
and long term, 2.) Ms. Swinton may have been a paid informant of the
CSPD, 3.) The phone call made by Ms. Swinton to Texas was somehow at
the Department's behest, 4.) Lt. Santos had intervened in a case
involving Ms. Swinton in Douglas County, 5.) Lt. Santos did not recuse
herself from matters involving Ms. Swinton and that she should have
due to the alleged relationship."
date: 10/13/2009
http://docs.google.com/View?id=dfthx7q4_2112crrp7mfr
1>> http://hughmcbryde.blogspot.com/2009/10/press-turmoil-and-yfz-coverage.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
THURSDAY 3 APRIL
CPS contacts Methodist Children's Center inquiring about space
availability.
5:30p- Walther signs a search-and-arrest warrant authorizing officials
to search the ranch for the girl, for any documents tying her to her
alleged husband, and for the man himself - identified as Dale Barlow.
Officials enter the ranch shortly thereafter.
9p-Arrive at the ranch but don't actually gain access to any children
until 11.
FRIDAY 4 APRIL 1am- "About two hours after arriving" Voss determines
the ranch is "no place for children".
3-5am- "After 6 hours" (9 or 11p?) Voss determines to remove some
girls Once on the ranch, initial interviews raised concerns about a
specific group of girls, and CPS asked Walther to allow them to be
brought into emergency temporary custody, Voss said. As the night
progressed, the concerns grew, eventually spreading to all the
children living on the ranch.
[When did CPS ask Walther to allow them to be brought into emergency
temp custody? When she arrived at the ranch later that morning?]
Sometime before 11am: A district judge is on the scene and has ordered
everyone under 16 be produced to authorities. Gives CPS custody of
1/3 of the girls. Issues gag order.
http://www.kwes.com/Global/story.asp?S=8119046
Just before noon- Midland LE, Tx Rangers "stormed the facility".
Midland County Sheriff Gary Painter tells NewsWest9 that they are
helping investigate the sexual assaults of young girls and are looking
for one 16-year-old girl in particular.
12:30- Buses from Eldorado Baptist Church arrive
2:45 The first two buses leave the ranch.
4:55 CPS reports they have removed 52 girls. 18 in legal custody and
they are looking for foster homes.
"We are there to assess the safety of these children," said Marleigh
Meisner, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Family and
Protective Services.
SATURDAY 5 APRIL 3:30 p.m. Saturday - CPS announces it has removed an
additional 131 women and children since the previous day for a total
of 183 people, of whom 137 are children.
[Why did CPS chose to word their announcement this way. They say the
women went voluntarily, but then say "they have removed and additional
131 women."]
10:15 p.m. Saturday - Another busload of women and children is removed
from the ranch, bringing the total number past 200.
Between 10:30-11:30 p.m. Saturday - Texas Rangers and other law
enforcement agencies enter the temple; no violence or injuries occur.
date: 10/2/2009
flds notes October 2, 2009
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfthx7q4_2135g8389hhk
1>>Judge allows FLDS raid evidence
date: 10/24/2009
flds notes october 24, 2009
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfthx7q4_2136d2tkftdm
3>> Polygamist sect focus of rare trial in Texas town
2>> Texas Polygamist Women Called "Pimps" (Flora)
1>>
First FLDS sex assault trial starts on Monday Polygamist sect leader's son is accused of having sex with minors By TERRI LANGFORD
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
1>>
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6683515.html
First FLDS sex assault trial starts on Monday
Polygamist sect leader's son is accused of having sex with minors
By TERRI LANGFORD
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Oct. 24, 2009, 12:38AM
date: 11/6/2009
flds notes nov 6, 2009
2>>
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hBU8uyQITnik8O4KnPAr1aXka0PAD9BPOUBO0
Texas polygamist sect member guilty of sex assault By MICHELLE ROBERTS
(AP) – 19 hours ago ELDORADO, Texas — The first polygamist sect member
to face criminal trial following last year's raid at the Yearning For
Zion Ranch in West Texas was convicted Thursday of sexually assaulting
an underage girl with whom he had a so-called "spiritual marriage."
1>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgQYfWTZnVU The first polygamist
sect member to face criminal trial following the raid at the Yearning
For Zion Ranch in West Texas last year was convicted Thursday of
sexual assault of a child. (Nov. 5)
date: January 22, 2010
ANOTHER PLEADS NO CONTEST TO GET TRIAL WITHOUT WALTHER
FLDS member going to prison for child sex assault
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jan. 22, 2010, 6:31PM
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/religion/6831187.html Willie
SAN ANGELO — A West Texas polygamist sect member was sentenced to
seven years in prison after pleading no contest to sexual assault of a
16-year-old girl Friday.
Under Texas law, someone younger than 17 cannot generally consent to
sex with an adult.
Emack's plea marked the third sexual assault of a child conviction for
a resident of the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado
Nine other suspects, including sect leader Warren Jeffs, are awaiting
trial on charges including sexual assault of a child and bigamy,
Strickland said. Jessop said Emack made the plea so he could file an
appeal. Jessop said Emack did not want to be tried by State District
Judge Barbara Walther, who signed the order to remove the children in
2008. A message left for Walther was not immediately returned Friday.
"He didn't feel that he would get a fair trial so he made a no contest
plea to move his case into what he believed would be a neutral court,
the court of appeals," Jessop said.
"We all very strongly believe the state of Texas acted in very bad
faith," Jessop said. "What the state did was selective prosecution and
they've used the format of a biased court to indict him."
date: January 16, 2010
http://www.truthwillprevail.org/index.php?parentid=1&index=174
Texas Authorities Failed to Make Routine Investigation of the “Sarah”
Story2010-01-16 04:22:12
It is a well-known fact by this time that the hoax calls that
triggered the Texas raid on the YFZ Ranch were placed by Rozita
Swinton, a thirty-three-year-old African American woman in Colorado
Springs with a history of making false reports of sexual abuse. For
almost two years Texas authorities have attempted to maintain the
fiction that they acted in good faith in responding to these calls
The approaching hearing in Arizona on evidence seized in the raid brings into focus again the transparency of such claims, especially in the light of the way in which numerous other agencies responded to like calls received at the same time.
The NewBridge Family Shelter in San Angelo, Texas, was far from the
only facility being phoned by Rozita shortly before the raid. Sgt.
Philip Kemp of the Texas Rangers, who investigated Rozita Swinton
between April 14 and April 17 of 2008, obtained, among other evidence,
a copy of Rozita’s phone record as well as the hard drive to her
computer.[1] She began calling the Snohomish Battered Women’s Shelter
in Washington State on March 22, 2008, a week before she placed her
first call to NewBridge. At the same time she began calling crisis
centers in Tennessee, Colorado, and Florida and also placing calls to
anti-FLDS crusader Flora Jessop. The calls to other shelters ceased
after March 29, the day of her first call to NewBridge, and did not
commence again until April 3, the evening of the Texas Raid. It was as
though Rozita was searching for a sympathetic ear for her stories and
found it in Snohomish, NewBridge, and Flora Jessop. Between March 22
and April 17 she placed thirty-five calls to the Snohomish Battered
Women’s Shelter for a total of 17.6 hours, twenty-six calls to
NewBridge for a total of 3.5 hours, and eighty-six calls to Flora
Jessop for a total of 27.6 hours. In the same time frame, she received
one call from NewBridge and twenty-five calls from Flora Jessop.[2] On
March 31 Flora arranged a three-way telephone conversation between
herself, “Sarah” and Detective Sam Brower, who has received over
$500,000 from Dan Fischer’s Diversity Foundation to conduct
investigations of the FLDS. Brower took Rozita’s phone number and
turned it over to Gary Engles, Mohave County District Attorney
Investigator. In this conversation “Sarah” claimed that she was being
taken to Texas.[3] On March 29 and 30 she had been telling NewBridge
that she was being held as a prisoner on the Ranch.
The story Rozita told to Snohomish was similar to the story she told
to NewBridge but with important differences that would have called
into question the veracity of both sets of phone calls as soon as
authorities in the two states began comparing notes. In her calls to
Snohomish, she claimed that her husband Dale Barlow had moved her from
Texas to Washington about three months before and taken her to the
Fairhaven Downs Apartments.[4] In later calls she claimed that she had
been moved to the YFZ Ranch about three weeks ago and assigned to a
new husband named “Uncle Merril.” She then reported that she had been
moved from the YFZ Ranch in the last few days and was not sure where
she was. She claimed that Dale Barlow was living in Everett,
Washington.[5] The caller did not block her number; and when the
incident was reported to the Washington State CPS, a social worker
named Denette Wagner used the internet to perform a reverse search on
the number, which she found was issued out of La Junta, Colorado. She
also clipped to her report a news account out of Eldorado, Texas,
giving details of the raid on the YFZ Ranch and the telephone calls
that had triggered it.[6]
The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office investigated the calls. Not
identifying himself as a law enforcement officer, Detective Zelaya
phoned the number that had appeared each time on the answering service
and asked to speak with Sarah Barlow. The female who answered the
phone told him that he had the wrong number.[7] After contacting the
manager of the Fairhaven Downs Apartments and determining that a Dale
E. Barlow lived there, he called at the apartment and interviewed Dale
and his fiancé, who was not named Sarah. He reported that Dale was
cooperative, showed no signs of deception, and claimed that he had
never resided in Texas.[8] On April 5, one day before the issuance of
the second warrant to search the YFZ Ranch, Detective C. Leyda called
the Texas Department of Safety and spoke to Detective Joe Haralson on
the case. He obtained from the Washington Department of Licensing a
driver’s license photo of the Dale Barlow interviewed by Detective
Zelaya and emailed this to Detective Haralson in Texas, who informed
him that this was not the suspect.[9] Interestingly, Detective
Haralson places the date of this communication as April 7, the day
after the issuance of the second search warrant.[10]
Sandra Woodward, a worker at the Snohomish Battered Women’s Shelter,
said that she had been reluctant to report the “Sarah” calls to the
Sheriff’s Office earlier because the whole incident seemed “very
bizarre.” Her supervisor, Stacia Euwer, had been skeptical of the
entire series of calls and had even removed another worker from the
case because she felt that the worker was becoming too emotionally
involved. Even that worker reported, however, that she also had been
skeptical of the calls.[11]
Although she had not phoned other agencies since March 29, Rozita went
wild on the night of the raid and began placing numerous calls to
crisis centers in B.C., Canada, and in Utah as well as to the National
Child Abuse Hotline and the Arizona Child Abuse Hotline.[12] There
seems to have been little response to any of these calls with the
exception of one placed to a safe house for girls in Mission, B.C. on
April 3. The caller gave her name as “Sarah Barlow,” claiming that she
was the “Sarah” who had sparked the YFZ raid and that she was being
kept in an FLDS “compound” in Bountiful, B.C.[13] Jeanene Nelson, the
woman who received the call, contacted the Seattle, Washington, FBI
Field Office on April 9. Asked why she had not given the information
to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, she said that she had but they
“didn’t act like they were interested.”[14] The Seattle Field Office
phoned the San Antonio Division of the FBI to find anyone who might be
interested in the information, which was finally communicated to
Captain Caver and Ranger Long on April 11 by Special Agent John
Broadway of the FBI San Angelo Resident Agency.
Other agencies that received information on the “Sarah” calls either
dismissed them as a hoax or made the necessary investigation to prove
that they were not credible. Only Texas chose to ignore the most
obvious features of the story that could have been checked for
veracity and instead assembled a small army for invasion of the YFZ
Ranch.
In her calls to NewBridge, “Sarah” claimed that she had previously
received treatment for broken ribs at the Schleicher County Medical
Center. Here was an easily verifiable piece of information, but in an
interview in December 2008 Ranger Long was uncertain and evasive about
any attempts to check out the report. He stated that Deputy George
Arispe had checked with the Medical Center but that there was no
record of a Sarah Jessop being treated. He further stated that Sheriff
Doran had assured him that this would not be unusual because the FLDS
probably would not have used their proper names.[15] However, in a
small town such as Eldorado, it is likely that any staff member who
had treated a strange young lady with bruises and broken ribs would
have been suspicious and reported possible abuse at the time or at
least have remembered the incident if questioned about it later so
that further inquiries could have discredited this element of the
“Sarah” story. Later in his interview Long expressed uncertainty that
Arispe had ever checked with the Medical Center at all: “To the best
of my recollection. Vaguely I remember that happening.”[16]
date: January 21, 2010
Texas Authorities Were Waiting for an Excuse to Enter the YFZ Ranch
2010-01-21 11:18:05
By Donald Richter
http://www.truthwillprevail.org/index.php?parentid=1&index=177
Investigative supervisor Angie Voss testified at the 14-day hearing concerning the broader intent of the CPS involvement:
Q. And you were only asking about Sarah, or were you asking about other things too?
A. Other things, too. We were doing an investigation.[x]
Circumstantial evidence strongly suggests that CPS officials had in place a plan to remove the children from the Ranch before the authorities ever set foot on the property. After obtaining entrance to the Ranch on the evening of April 3, CPS investigators spent the night interviewing girls between the ages of seven and seventeen. In the early hours of April 4, Angie Voss approached Brooks Long for assistance from law enforcement to remove eighteen girls between the ages of seven and seventeen, saying she had obtained an order from Judge Walther.[xi] When Long protested that officers had not yet made their search for the caller and asked that the request be put in writing, Ms. Voss produced the following note, asking assistance in removing not just the girls but all of the children:
April 4, 2008
On behalf of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, Child Protective Services, that Brooks Long and other Law Enforcement officers assist myself and fellow Protective Staff in extracting all the children located at the compound from the premises. I have spoken with Judge Walthers [sic] who advised me that it is her Order that C.P.S. take immediate possession of the children located here.
Angie Voss
CPS Supervisor[xii]
When she was questioned later at the 14-day hearing, Angie Voss denied that she was the one who had made the decision to remove the children:
Q. So I assume by that, you’re the one that made this decision?
A. No, sir.
Q. Oh, who made it?
A. With information I provided my program director, my program administrator, our regional director and I believe several persons from our state office came.[xiii]
It is inconceivable that these officials came onto the Ranch during the first night of the raid and made such a decision and highly unlikely that Ms. Voss even discussed the matter with them over the phone in the middle of the night. If there is any truth at all in her assertion regarding who made the decision, the matter must have been discussed and decided some time before the raid.
Texas officials had been waiting for some time for just such an excuse as was provided by the “Sarah” calls. Consider the statement of Harvey Hilderbran quoted in the New York Times shortly after the raid:
The Texas lawmaker who represents Eldorado, Representative Harvey Hilderbran, a Republican, said the authorities had been looking for a tool, if not a spark, to combat the particular form of polygamy that arrived here in 2003, when the group’s members came from Utah and Arizona….
“We’ve been fighting this for awhile, trying to do something about it,” Mr. Hilderbran said. “But we needed a complaint. You can’t just say: ‘Golly, I can’t get into that ranch, I bet you lots of awful stuff is going on in there.’”
Mr. Hilderbran said that based on recent conversations with law enforcement officials, they had been poised to respond if and when a cry for help came.[xiv]
date: August 9, 2011
The downfall of Warren Jeffs began long before
the
date: end